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Boston Red Sox pitcher Zack Kelly appeared to be fighting back tears as he exited Wednesday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays with what the team called “right elbow pain.”
The heartbreaking scene played out in the bottom of the fifth inning after Kelly, 28, hit Rays leadoff batter Yandy Diaz with a pitch. After plunking Diaz, the right-handed Kelly took off his glove and reached for his elbow before he squatted down and buried his face in his hands. Catcher Reese McGuire, Red Sox manager Alex Cora and a trainer came to check on Kelly as he reached again for his right elbow. The emotion showed on Kelly’s face as he walked off the field.
Ryan Brasier came into the game in relief of Kelly.
“Definitely (was) emotional for two reasons,” Kelly said on NESN after the game. “One, because I care. I care about this game, these guys and I enjoy doing this. Two, just all the (stuff) I went through to get here. It’s just a lot. Whenever something like that happens, you get emotional about it.”
Kelly, an undrafted product of Division II’s Newberry College, has suffered a serious elbow injury before. In 2020 he required significant surgery after tearing the UCL in his right arm, per MassLive.com.
Kelly was released by the Los Angeles Angels during minor league baseball’s COVID-19 shutdown, leaving him to rehab on his own. He signed with the Red Sox in December 2020 and after a solid 2021 in their minor league system he made his big league debut in August 2022. He appeared in 13 games last season, throwing 13⅔ innings and posting a 3.95 ERA.
This season Kelly was off to a great start, entering Wednesday with a 1.35 ERA in 6⅔ innings of work.
“He’ll fly with us tomorrow, and we’ll do all the stuff, the imaging, all that in Boston,” Cora said. “It’s the elbow he had surgery (on) a few years ago. Tough, tough to see. Hopefully there’s nothing wrong.”
The Rays won the game, 9-7, to run their season-opening win streak to 12 games.
Contributing: Gabe Lacques and Associated Press
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