Nice Debut for Joe Kelly

Supported by offense & defense from Xander Bogaerts, Joe Kelly pitched 7 strong innings in a 2-1 win by the Red Sox over the Cards. Kelly induced several ground ball outs with his 3 pitch mix of fastball, slider/curve & change. I like what I saw. Meanwhile, X-man accounted for both RBI with a double off the left field wall & a sac fly to center. Bogaerts also played good D at SS. St. Louis just doesn't look like they have enough fire power on offense to do any damage in the playoffs this year. The Cards need to pitch perfect & play perfect defense to eek out wins. Example is this series, a 3-2 win & a 2-1 loss. WEEI commented that it was odd to have Middlebrooks pinch hit & try to bunt instead of Farrell letting him hit away to see what he could do at the bat. JBJ & Middlebrooks haven't had much playing time lately as Farrell moves Brock Holt around to keep him in the lineup at leadoff. That should change if the Sox are to evaluate all of these young guys before the end of the season. I think Holt has convinced everyone that he can handle the leadoff spot.