The beleaguered Red Sox bullpen is about to get a shot in the arm.
After Boston relievers combined to allow 20 earned runs on 23 hits and 10 walks in just 12.1 innings during a brutal two-game Yankee sweep in London, the team will call Trevor Kelley up from Pawtucket.
The 25-year-old Kelley has never pitched in the majors, but he has been dominant in Triple-A this season. In 28 games, he has compiled a 5-2 record with four saves, a 0.96 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP, allowing just four earned runs over 37.2 innings. The Rhode Island native was just selected to the International League All-Star team this past Thursday.
As Alex Speier notes, Kelley and his sidearm delivery has been especially effective against lefties, holding them to a .077 batting average. Righties, meanwhile, are hitting .282 against Kelley.
Whether or not he's ready for the majors remains to be seen, but after this weekend's atrocious bullpen performance helped drop the Sox a whopping 11 games behind the first-place Yankees, the Sox might as well try someone new.
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