Joe Kelly injury: What happened to Dodgers opener?

A disastrous first inning for Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly ended with him leaving the mound early because of an injury.

The Dodgers are in win-or-go-home mode in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Braves. And things didn’t exactly start out as planned.

Manager Dave Roberts sent Joe Kelly out as an opener for the bullpen game, but had to replace him before the first inning was up.

Joe Kelly injury update: Dodgers opener leaves with bicep tightness

Kelly left the game after facing four batters. He gave up a two-run home run to Freddie Freeman before getting his second out. That was it for him.

According to David Vassegh, Kelly was suffering from “right bicep tightness.”

Since Kelly had been having a rough time, something not being right with his arm makes sense.

Evan Phillips came in and ended the inning by striking out Adam Duvall. It may have ended without any more damage, but it is definitely not how Roberts would have wanted to make his first pitching change.

Kelly’s teammates made up for his early struggles a short while later. AJ Pollock and Chris Taylor each hit home runs in the second inning to put Los Angeles in front.

If the Dodgers manage to win on Thursday night, the next question will be how long the tightness could keep Kelly out. He’s one of the teams main relievers who will undoubtedly be needed if the series continues to seven games, as LA needs it to.