In the toughest environments, the best players shine the brightest. After dropping Game 1 of the World Series, the Arizona Diamondbacks gave the ball to Merrill Kelly for Game 2. Kelly, who has been incredible this season, faced off against a Texas Rangers squad that was on fire in Game 1. The pressure was on for Kelly.
And he delivered. Big-time. Merrill Kelly had one hell of a game against the Rangers in Game 2 of the World Series. Kelly allowed only one run and three hits in seven innings, while striking out nine. It was exactly the performance the Diamondbacks needed to get back into the series.
It's hard to believe that this is the same man that, six years ago, was playing in South Korea. In his post-game interview with Ken Rosenthal, Kelly said that he dreamed of performing like this in the World Series.
“I dreamt of it,” Kelly told me in his postgame interview on Fox. “But I think at that point, that was all it was, a dream.”
Merrill Kelly had the performance of his life tonight in Game 2 of the #WorldSeries
The @dbacks starter spoke with @Ken_Rosenthal about his journey to this moment pic.twitter.com/q6DVh235Bm
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 29, 2023
Watching Kelly on the mound in this game, you would've thought that he was a long-time star in the league. That's very much not the case: the Diamondbacks welcomed Kelly in 2018 after the righty had a long stint in Korea following his first exit. Kelly had to grind to find his way to the top, and the hard work is starting to pay off.
With the win, the Diamondbacks were able to even up the series at 1-1. Based on this performance (and really, the entirety of his postseason run, it's safe to say that Merrill Kelly will likely get the ball once against against the Rangers.
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