BALTIMORE -- Ryan Hanigan has caught seven of the eight games Joe Kelly has consecutively won, with astonishing strikeout to walk totals in that span.
With Kelly going for his ninth win in nine starts tonight against the Orioles, he could tie Pedro Martinez’s such streak in 1999. Naturally, Hanigan earned the nod behind the dish on Tuesday.
While Kelly has been in much better form since returning from Triple-A Pawtucket, he’s also benefited from the pitch-calling and receiving ability of Hanigan, the 35-year-old backup who may not have an obvious fit on next year’s Sox team (Christian Vazquez and Blake Swihart both figure to be on the roster, barring a trade or position change) but has played a key role in the turnarounds of Kelly and Rick Porcello.