"KBO reverse export myth" is finally back!→ As soon as he returns, 'the first victory of his emotions' will increase his expectations this season

*This content was translated by AI.

Merrill Kelly (38), one of the main characters of the KBO League's reverse export myth, enjoyed the joy of becoming a winning pitcher in his return game.

Kelly started the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park in Baltimore, Maryland on the 15th (Korea time) and pitched five hits, four walks, three strikeouts and two runs (two earned) in five ⅓ innings.

Arizona made up the starting lineup in the order of Ildemaro Vargas (second baseman), Corbin Carroll (right fielder), Geraldo Fedomo (striker), Jose Fernandez (designated hitter), Nolan Arenado (third baseman), Lucken Baker (first baseman), James McCann (catcher), Tim Tawa (left fielder), and Jorge Barossa (center fielder).

In response, Baltimore took the mound with Trevor Rogers as the starter. Gunner Henderson (striker), Taylor Ward (left fielder), Pete Alonso (first baseman), Samuel Basalo (catcher), Dylan Beaver (designated hitter), Leody Taveras (center fielder), Colton Kauser (right fielder), Jeremiah Jackson (second baseman), and Blaze Alexander (third baseman).

From the first inning, he got off to a good start with a three-way error. Kelly guided Henderson, the leadoff hitter, to a ground ball in front of the shortstop in the first inning, then caught Ward with a fly ball to center field and Alonso with a straight hit to right field.

Kelly scored his first run in the second inning. He gave up a solo home run over the center fence to leadoff hitter Vasalo. He then thinned out Vivers and Taveras with fly balls to center field, respectively, and dedicated consecutive hits to Kauser and Jackson. However, he finished the second inning without additional runs, out Alexander with a fly ball to center field.

Kelly gave up another run in the third inning. After one out, Ward allowed a hit and stolen base, and consecutive walks to Alonso and Vasalo, causing a bases-loaded crisis. He seemed to take a breather by striking out Vivers, but gave up a straight walk to Taveras to score his second run. However, he did not score any additional runs as he threw out Couser with a fly ball to center field.

Kelly was hit by a double to the left field by leading hitter Jackson in the fourth inning. A situation where Alexander's sacrifice bunt made it to third base with one out. Here, at the subsequent Henderson at-bat, he caught third baseman Jackson with a check ball and even Henderson struck out swinging to end the inning.

Kelly took the mound in the sixth inning after making a clean sweep of the fifth inning. Kelly, who gave up a walk to leadoff hitter Vivers for the sixth time and then handled Taveras, the next batter, with a straight hit to left field on the first pitch. In the end, that's it. Kelly turned over the mound to Taylor Clark. And Kelly became the winning pitcher with a 4-3 victory after his team scored four points in the fifth inning.

Meanwhile, Kelly was a minor league prospect who had not made the major league stage before joining the SK Wyverns (the predecessor of the current SSG Landers) in 2015. After receiving the Tampa Bay Rays' nomination in the eighth round of the 2010 MLB Rookie of the Year draft (No. 251 overall), he made the Triple-A stage for the first time in three years. In 2014, he was invited to the Major League Spring Camp, which seemed to increase his chances of entering the big league roster, but he failed to achieve his dream. Then, after heading to Korea at the age of 27 in 2015, he pitched in 119 games in four seasons until 2018 with SK, recording 48 wins, 32 losses and a 3.86 ERA. He has consistently played as an ace every season.

After playing with 11 wins and 10 losses and a 4.13 ERA in the 2015 season, his first year as a member, he recorded 9 wins and 8 losses and a 3.68 ERA in the 2016 season the following year. In the 2017 season, he showed good performance with 16 wins, 7 losses and a 3.60 ERA, and ended his career in Korea with 12 wins, 7 losses and a 4.09 ERA in the 2018 season. While throwing a total of 729 ⅔ innings in the KBO League, he had 749 hits (65 home runs), 206 walks, 641 strikeouts, and 341 runs (313 earned runs). In the 2017 season, he became the king of strikeouts with 189 strikeouts. In 2018, he helped SK win the Korean Series and ended his career in Korea and headed to the Major League.

Prior to the 2019 season, he signed a two-plus-two-year, maximum $14.5 million (about 19.6 billion won) contract with Arizona. At that time, it was expected that he would play about four starters, but he actually played the role of the first starter amid his only full season performance. In the end, the Arizona club executed the club option of two years and signed an extension contract of $18 million (about 24.3 billion won) for two years, which will be applied from the 2023 season ahead of the 2022 season. In the 2023 season, he pitched 177 ⅔ innings in 30 games, playing an ace role with 12 wins, 8 losses and a 3.29 ERA.

However, after only 5 wins and 1 loss with a 4.03 ERA in the 2024 season, he moved to the Texas Rangers through a 1:3 trade in August in the 2025 season. His record last season was 12-9, 3.52 ERA, and he returned to Arizona on a two-year deal worth $40 million (about 58.9 billion won) this season. Kelly, who suffered a back injury in the spring camp, won his first victory in his return match on the day.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.