Kimbrel Thrown Right Into Fire, Notches Save In First Outing Off DL
BOSTON (CBS) -- It didn't take Craig Kimbrel long to get back into the swing of things out of the Red Sox bullpen.
Coming off the first trip to the disabled list in his career, Kimbrel notched his 18th save of the season on Monday night in Boston's 2-1 win over the Seattle Mariners. It was anything but a clean ninth inning for the Boston closer, but he said he felt good and had no issues with his knee after the outing.
"The ball was coming out of my hand really well and the knee wasn't really anything I was thinking about; I was thinking about getting outs," Kimbrel told reporters. "It worked out."
Just three weeks after undergoing surgery on his MCL, Kimbrel threw 24 pitches (13 of them strikes) while facing five batters in all. He ended up striking out the side to secure the Boston victory. While he's not great in four-out situations, he ended up needing four outs after a wild pitch on strike three allowed Kyle Seager (one of his three strikeout victims) to head to first base after he went down swinging.
Kimbrel's knee was tested right off the bat when the first batter he faced, pinch-hitter Seth Smith, hit a soft roller back to the mound. Kimbrel gingerly made his way over to the ball but fired over to first base to record the first out of the inning.
"I was just aggressive, I got there and was able to make the play," he said. "You never want to give up on the ball. It kind of looked like I stumbled a bit, but that was just me trying to decide if I would go after it or not."
After issuing a five-pitch, two out walk to Mike Zunino to put runners at first and second, prompting a visit from pitching coach Carl Willis, Kimbrel got Shawn O'Malley looking to end the game.
Coming in with a one-run lead gave Kimbrel the high pressure situation he wants whenever he takes the mound.
"That's my job," he said.
"That one-run margin wasn't a heck of a lot," manager John Farrell said after the game. "He was very good. It looked like he hadn't missed any time."
Adding an effective Kimbrel to the Boston bullpen, which has been taxed this season due to a slew of injuries and general ineffectiveness from the starting rotation, should be a big boost to the Red Sox relief corps for the stretch run of the season.
