Braves interim manager Brian Snitker didn’t say if right-hander Casey Kelly would stay in the rotation after making his first start of the season on Sunday. Snitker said the team likely would make that decision after Monday’s off day.
But Casey did well enough to at least earn consideration as the No. 5 starter. He allowed three runs over five innings of the 5-0 loss to the Phillies.
“Casey did a really good job keeping us in the game,” Snitker said. “Competed very well. Just had a hard time hitting (locations) with his fastball early and then he kind of got settled in and threw the ball all right.”
The Braves have an open rotation spot after sending rookie Aaron Blair to Triple-A Gwinnett last week. They promoted Kelly from Gwinnett for his second stint with the Braves after he allowed one run in three innings of relief against the Mets on April 22.
Kelly’s last big-league start was with the Padres on Oct. 2.
“I think I went out there and competed,” Kelly said. “Didn’t have my best stuff today. I wish I could have went out there and done a little bit better for the guys. They were playing (great) defense behind me. Coming off the last couple games, they’ve been playing really well. They called me up to help them win games and I didn’t get it done today.”
The Red Sox selected Kelly in the first round of the 2008 draft and traded him to the Padres in December 2010. He was rated as a top 100 prospect before undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery in 2013. Kelly appeared in three games (two starts) for the Padres last season and posted a 7.94 ERA in 11 1/3 innings.
Kelly has a 2.63 ERA in seven games (five starts) with Gwinnett this season.
“He was probably trying too hard (today),” Snitker said. “Sometimes guys come up—they are footloose and fancy free down there, everything is kind of relaxed—and they come here and try to force the issue a little bit, make pitches do things. But overall, I thought the stuff was really good out of Casey.”
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