BALTIMORE -- Eleven days after taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning at Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox right-hander Joe Kelly has been sent to the minor leagues.
In the latest sign that the Red Sox, under the leadership of president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, are running their roster as a strict meritocracy, Kelly was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket after allowing seven runs on seven hits and three walks and failing to complete the third inning Wednesday night in a 13-9 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.