ST. LOUIS -- It took him some time to get going, but reliever Shawn Kelley has certainly become one of the Padres' most reliable -- and successful -- bullpen cogs.
Kelley struck out four over two scoreless innings in the Padres' 5-3 win over the Cardinals in 11 innings on Thursday, lowering his ERA since May 1 to 2.31.
Better still, since May 17 he has a 1.35 ERA in 20 innings over 18 games, with 23 strikeouts. During that blissful stretch, opponents are hitting just .208 against him.
"I think I'm just feeling good right now.