It wasn't Merrill Kelly's night on Tuesday.
Leading up to Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, the Arizona Diamondbacks starter poked the wrong bear when he foolishly and unknowingly issued a challenge to Philadelphia Phillies fans. His claims that the Citizens Bank Park wouldn't be as loud as the WBC didn't sit well with the Philly faithful.
Following the Phillies' 10-0 dismantling of the Diamondbacks, Kelly tried to put his comments into context. Surrounded by a throng of reporters, no doubt wondering what he would say after his team had an overall miserable night playing in front of a raucous and rowdy crowd, the veteran attempted to explain his comments.
It's highly doubtful, however, that anyone in Philadelphia is buying what he's trying to sell.
"I thought it was fun, obviously it didn't go our way," Kelly said, in the understatement of the postseason. "... that little snippet was taken out of context and made into something that was probably more than it should have been."
Welcome to Philly in the postseason, Merrill.
Kelly heard Philly fans at full volume early on
Fans had hours before the game to get riled up and ready to show Kelly how loud they could get. Luckily, Turner gave the Citizens Bank Park crowd something to jump on right away when he took the Arizona righty deep to left for another Phillies first-inning home run.
Now that sounded loud, but Kelly made sure to let everyone know that it didn't surprise him, despite his pregame comments.
"I knew these fans would bring a ton of energy, they love their Phillies," Kelly said. "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 finished by explaining that it doesn't matter if it's home fans making the noise or a hostile crowd like he faced on Tuesday. Phillies fans would probably beg to differ.
"Whether it's 45,000 people cheering for you or against you, that's kinda what gets us going," Kelly said. "Whether it's hostile territory or whether it's the home crowd, obviously you'd prefer the home crowd, but either way, the excitement is why we're here."
Based on the result of Game 2, it's a safe bet that Kelly would have much preferred pitching in front of a home crowd on Tuesday night. At least he can take comfort in the fact that he likely won't be back in Philadelphia again this season.
