Arizona Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly does not seem pleased that he inadvertently gave Phillies fans extra fuel entering Game 2 of the NLCS.
The back-and-forth started a few days ago when Kelly compared the atmosphere at Citizens Bank Park to what he faced in the World Baseball Classic, saying "I'd be very surprised if [the atmosphere] trumped that Venezuela game down in Miami."
Phillies fans were appropriately riled up when the clip resurfaced ahead of his Game 2 start, as if any more fuel was needed. Then the team gave the faithful plenty to cheer about. Trea Turner started the scoring with a first-inning home run, Kyle Schwarber added two longballs of his own off Kelly and the Phillies continued on to a destructive 10-0 win. The Diamondbacks starter's final line was 5.2 innings, three hits, three walks and four runs.
Kelly addressed his previous comments about the atmosphere at Citizens Bank Park when speaking to reporters after the game:
"I thought it was fun. Obviously didn't go our way, but like I said previously in that interview before that little snippet was taken out of context and made into something that was probably more than it should have been, I said that from the very start: I knew the energy was going to be loud, I know these fans bring a ton of energy. They love their Phillies. So it's nothing I didn't know going into the game. So it's not like I was taken by surprise by it. But it was definitely loud."
Kelly and the Diamondbacks are now in rough shape heading back to Arizona trailing 2-0 in the series and without an effective starting pitcher scheduled until Zac Gallen is back on the mound for Game 5 on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, the Phillies are closing in on their second-straight National League crown. They'll look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead with Ranger Suarez on the mound on Thursday night.