Joe Kelly impressive early, with his pitches and a bare-handed grab, as Cardinals lead Game 3

ST. LOUIS — Pitcher Joe Kelly is talked about in the Cardinals clubhouse as a very good athlete, a guy who can dunk a basketball from the standing position. He's only 6-foot-1 too.

Kelly showed off his athleticism early in Game 3 of the World Series, which the Cardinals led 2-0 over the Boston Red Sox in the middle of the fourth inning.

Kelly snagged a comebacker off the bat of Shane Victorino in the bottom of the first with his bare hand. His follow-through had him moving away from the ball, but Kelly changed directions, jumped and grabbed it. Pretty nice, Joe. Though surely someone would tell him that using his pitching hand like that in the World Series isn't the wisest move.

It sure hasn't hurt his pitching. Through four innings, Kelly held the Boston Red Sox to one hit, throwing 50 pitches and striking out four. Meanwhile, the Cardinals offense jumped on Boston early to get its 2-0 lead. Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina both had RBI singles in a four-hit first inning for the Cardinals.

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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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