LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers leaned on their bullpen to keep their season alive on Thursday night, but if they¡¯re going to pull off a second consecutive National League Championship Series comeback against Atlanta, they¡¯ll have to do so without a key member of their vaunted relief corps.

Right-hander Joe Kelly is likely to miss the remainder of the postseason with a right biceps strain after he exited the Dodgers¡¯ 11-2 Game 5 victory during the first inning.

¡°Just the way it reads right now,¡± said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, ¡°that will be it for the rest of the season for him.¡±

Kelly posted a 2.86 ERA in 48 appearances during the regular season, and he had become a critical middle-innings piece in front of Los Angeles¡¯ back-end trio of Brusdar Graterol, Blake Treinen and Kenley Jansen.

Roberts did not confirm the replacement for Kelly on the Dodgers¡¯ postseason roster, but it seems likely it will be David Price. The veteran left-hander was on the NL Division Series roster but didn¡¯t pitch, then he was left off the roster for the NLCS against Atlanta. Price posted a 4.03 ERA in 39 appearances this season.

¡°We're considering some guys,¡± Roberts said. ¡°But David is obviously at the top of the list.¡±

Kelly, who was serving as the opener for a planned bullpen game on Thursday, threw 28 pitches before he was evaluated by a team trainer on the Dodger Stadium mound. He was removed mid-at-bat, with the Dodgers trailing the Braves, 2-0.

It¡¯s unclear whether the injury was bothering Kelly throughout the first inning. He was hit hard, allowing two hits, including Freddie Freeman¡¯s booming two-run homer. Kelly recorded only two outs before he was replaced by right-hander Evan Phillips, who struck out Adam Duvall to end the inning.

Kelly became the first Dodgers starter to not complete the first inning in a postseason game since Bob Welch failed to record an out in Game 4 of the 1981 World Series against the Yankees.

Nonetheless, Los Angeles became just the fourth team in AL/NL postseason history to win an elimination game in which its starter lasted less than an inning -- and the first since the 2017 Yankees beat the Twins in the AL Wild Card Game after Luis Severino¡¯s early exit. The other two were the 1924 Senators in Game 7 of the World Series and the 1925 Pirates in Game 7 of the World Series.

Six Dodgers relievers combined to pitch 8 1/3 scoreless innings, sending the series back to Atlanta with the Braves leading, 3-2.