Red Sox optioning reliever to Triple-A after he failed to record an out vs. Yankees

The Boston Red Sox had a 4-0 lead over the New York Yankees when Zack Kelly took the mound in the bottom of the seventh inning on Friday night at Yankee Stadium.

Kelly walked his first two batters (Anthony Volpe and Alex Verdugo) before allowing the third (Gleyber Torres) to drive a run in on an RBI single.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora replaced Kelly with Cam Booser, who then walked Juan Soto and gave up a grand slam to Aaron Judge to give New York a 5-4 lead which Boston never came back from.

Kelly was charged with three earned runs on two walks and a hit, and after the game, he was optioned to Triple-A Worcester, according to MassLive's Chris Cotillo.

Through Kelly's first 25 appearances this year, he was spectacular, posting a 1.78 ERA. However, he's struggled so much in his last 24 outings that his numbers have ballooned to a 3.97 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP while striking out 61 on the year.

With the season dwindling down and Boston now 4.5 games out of the third wild-card spot, it's unlikely that any move will make a huge difference now.

However, it will be interesting to see who they decide to add to the MLB roster to take his spot.

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