Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly just issued a challenge to Philadelphia Phillies fans.
Well, sort of. Kelly will be on the mound Tuesday in Philadelphia starting for the Diamondbacks in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series (NLCS). Raucous Philly fans have been a menace to opposing players this postseason, but the right-hander made it clear ahead of the first pitch that he isn’t concerned about the crowd noise at Citizens Bank Park.
“I haven’t obviously heard this place on the field,” Kelly told reporters Tuesday afternoon. “But I’d be very surprised if it trumped that Venezuela game down in Miami.”
The game Kelly is referencing was a dramatic Team USA comeback win over Venezuela in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC). U.S. shortstop Trea Turner hit a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning against Venezuela to advance Team USA to the semifinals. Kelly was on the American roster for the WBC but did not appear in that 9-7 U.S. win.
Kelly’s comments Tuesday are doubling down on what he said Sunday before the series started.
“Everyone says it’s kind of intimidating, but I feel like that’s the fun part,” Kelly said of playing in Philadelphia to reporters. “That’s kind of why we’re here. We do it for the fans. The fans are the reason why we even have a league…I feel like even if they’re yelling at you or for you, as long as there’s 40-50,000 people in the stands, that’s kind of why we get excited.”
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The Phillies enter Game 2 with a 1-0 NLCS lead over the D-backs.
Bryce Harper celebrated his 31st birthday with a home run and a 5-3 Philadelphia home win in Game 1 on Monday. Kelly, a 35-year-old who finished the regular season with a 3.29 ERA, will try to tame Harper, Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber, and the rest of the hard-hitting Phillies lineup in Game 2.
Both Philadelphia and Arizona reached the NLCS after earning postseason spots as Wild Card teams. Arizona took the No. 6 and final spot in the National League playoffs after an 84-win regular season. But the Diamondbacks swept the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers and NL West-winning Los Angeles Dodgers to reach the Championship Series.
The Phillies beat the Marlins in the Wild Card round before upsetting the 104-win Atlanta Braves in the Divisional Series. This marked the second consecutive year that the Phillies beat the Braves in the NLDS. Philly is now eyeing back-to-back World Series appearances.
“I love this place,” Harper said of playing in Philadelphia. “There’s nothing like coming into [Citizens Bank Park] and playing in front of these fans. Blue-collar mentality, tough, fighting every single day. I get chills, man. I get so fired up… I signed here for a reason, to do everything I could to bring back a trophy to this town.”
Philadelphia may be the City of Brotherly Love, but Philly fans were a nuisance to the Braves throughout the most recent series.
Philly fanatics frustrated Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia in the aftermath of his “Atta boy Harper” comments. Some members of the Citizens Bank crowd wore “Is This Too Loud For You Spencer?” shirts to mock Atlanta starter Spencer Strider. Phillies fans even replicated the Braves’ “Tomahawk Chop.”
“It’s impressive,” Braves third baseman Austin Riley said of Phillies fans. “It really is. They’re loud. They’re in every moment, kind of like our fans. They love some Philly baseball.”
Kelly’s comments could be more fuel for the Philly faithful.
First pitch of Game 2 is scheduled for 8:07 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The game will air on TBS. The series goes back to Arizona for Game 3 on Thursday.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.