D’Backs teammate hyped up Merrill Kelly’s Team USA start in hilarious fashion

Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly got his first start in the World Baseball Classic final against Japan — too bad he didn’t live up to the hype.

When it was announced that Merrill Kelly would take the mound for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic final against Japan, his Arizona Diamondbacks teammates were overjoyed.

Fellow Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen even anticipated that Kelly would cement his status along with the historical American greats like George Washington and Paul Revere. But it was infielder Trea Turner who ended up achieving Mount Rushmore levels of fame after his second-inning home run in the final.

Team USA ended up losing 3-2 in a tense matchup that pitted Los Angeles Angels teammates Mike Trout and Shohei Otani against each other, and their end-of-game face-off was no doubt the highlight of the year.

Trout vs. Ohtani met and exceeded expectations. Kelly’s pitching in the WBC, on the other hand, left much to be desired.

Team USA’s Merrill Kelly got compared to historical American greats way too soon

Kelly surrendered two runs on three hits, recording an abysmal 8.31 ERA in his start against Japan.

Prior to his start, Kelly pitched for Team USA in a win over Colombia, that time surrendering two runs on four hits with two walks and one strikeout across three innings.

Kelly, who has never played in the MLB postseason, entered arguably the biggest night of his career with the nation’s hopes and dreams on his back. As one of the most talented pitchers on Team USA, Kelly boasted a 3.37 ERA with 177 strikeouts in the nasty NL West. It’s too bad he couldn’t carry his team to a victory against Japan and will go home to start his fourth season with Arizona, playing behind ace Zac Gallen.

Trea Turner a.k.a Captain America is the one who needs a statue after his five total home runs this tournament, including a game-winning grand slam against Venezuela. Kelly had his chance to shine, and he squandered it.