Kelly shines in nasty weather; Dogs split

PORTLAND — Chalk up Casey Kelly’s first start at Hadlock Field as a success Sunday afternoon.

In game two of a soaking wet double-header between the Portland Sea Dogs and Trenton Thunder, Kelly, the number two prospect in the Boston Red Sox organization, tossed his first pitches in front of the home crowd in Portland.

Kelly struck out two batters, while giving up two hits with no runs and no walks in three innings of work. He showed good accuracy on his pitches, as he landed 29 strikes in 39 pitches.

Kelly remains on a strict pitch count, as he continues his full transition as a shortstop/pitcher to full-time pitcher.

Though he didn’t factor into the decision in the Sea Dogs’ 2-1 win (the win was given to reliever Eammon Portice), Kelly said he was happy with his outing, which had to wait an extra couple of days due to rain outs.

“It was tough to take those two days off before my start,” Kelly said. “But it was good to get out there and get a good feeling for my fastball.”

Kelly consistently threw his fastball in the low 90s, while also mixing in many changeups, and the occasional curve.

“I threw my changeup a lot,” Kelly said. “I threw fastballs early to get them swinging. The second time [the Thunder hitters took the plate], I used my offspeed [pitches] and mixed it in pretty well.”

While the Spring weather brought showers and temperatures in the 40s, Kelly, who hails from Florida, was not effected by the weather.

“Actually, my approach was go into hitters and challenge them,” Kelly said. “I know as a hitter you don’t really want to hit when it’s cold and rainy out, so [catcher Luis Exposito] was right on with that, calling fastballs in and then offspeed late in the count.”

Portland pitching coach Bob Kipper was impressed with Kelly’s performance.

“He was very good,” Kipper said. “He brought a very upbeat tempo, pitch-to-pitch today. He brought his fastball early in the game. He got that lineup swinging.”

Kipper said by having success early with his fastball, Kelly could come at batters in a variety of ways.

”He found opportunities to introduce his changeup and curveball very effectively,” Kipper said. “He developed a really good mix as the game went on, and really provided himself options in certain counts, and didn’t necessarily back himself into any corners where he was limited to the fastballs. What he did real well was establish his fastball as a legitimate pitch in the strike zone early in counts, early in the game, and I think that’s so important.”

Portland took the second game from Trenton by scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Exposito hit an RBI double to score Ryan Kalish, immediately followed by an RBI double by Lars Anderson off the Maine Monster to score Exposito.

Trenton scored its lone run in the top of the fourth, when Brandon Laird smacked a Portice pitch off the scoreboard to bring the score to 2-1.

Jason Rice notched his second save of the season for Portland, getting four outs in the sixth and seventh innings.

Sea Dogs starter Stephen Fife gave up three hits and two runs while striking out four in the first game to take the loss in Portland’s 3-1 defeat to Trenton in the first game. Anderson nabbed the only run for the Sea Dogs by ripping a Grant Duff fastball in the right field seats in the bottom of the seventh. The homer was Anderson’s second of the season.

Sign In: