Red Sox pitcher Joe Kelly singles and steals third but still can't score
P Joe Kelly singles and later steals third
Joe Kelly is a pitcher and, now that he's a member of the American League's Boston Red Sox, he won't have too many opportunities to flex his muscles at the plate and on the basepaths -- so he'd better make the most of every shot he gets.
Heading into Tuesday night's action, AL pitchers were hitting a measly .086 and the only Major League pitcher to steal a base all season was Clayton Kershaw, who stole one late last month (he did so without a throw because the ball skipped away from Cardinals catcher Tony Cruz).
On Tuesday, Kelly led off the top of the third with a single off of Reds hurler Cat Mat Latos. Even rarer than an American League pitcher leading off an inning with a single is that the BoSox had Brock Holt (their actual leadoff hitter) sacrifice bunt to move Kelly into scoring position with one out.
Rarer still is that Kelly proceeded to steal third.
That's right, an American League pitcher singled, moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt and then stole third. For those of you keeping score at home, a David Ortiz popup and a Yoenis Cespedes lineout left Kelly stranded 90 feet from home.
What's a guy gotta do to score around here?