Red Sox's Joe Kelly: Pitches into higher-profile role

Kelly has not allowed a run on four hits and a walk while striking out five over his last 5.2 innings, spanning six games.

Kelly's good fortunes coincide with a downturn in those of Matt Barnes and are shaking up manager John Farrell's late-inning relief pattern. Kelly worked in a traditional setup role in his last game, bridging the eighth inning to closer Craig Kimbrel. It's all about throwing strikes for Kelly. He's thrown strikes on 65 percent of his pitches during his recent run, up from 59 percent over his first 10 games when he walked eight batters in 13.1 innings. If he can sustain the command and limit the walks, Kelly has the stuff to be an effective setup guy.