Arizona Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly taking aim at control issues
CINCINNATI — Right-hander Merrill Kelly can’t quite pinpoint the problem, but he thinks he might be getting closer to a solution. For the past few weeks, Kelly’s control has been off, the walks have piled up and the Diamondbacks’ normally dependable starter has been a little less reliable.
But Kelly thinks he has figured something out over the past week, and is confident he will get back to attacking hitters on Wednesday night against the Cincinnati Reds the way he had been earlier in the season.
“I think more than anything it’s a feel thing,” he said. “My timing has been a little bit off as far as mechanics. But the last week, with my bullpen (Monday), has been a lot better. It’s been a lot easier to command stuff. It’s been going where I want it to.”
Kelly has allowed 16 earned runs in 17 innings over his past four starts. That includes a brutal outing at Dodger Stadium in which he allowed eight runs in two innings. While his bottom line looks better when that start is removed, he still has been issuing more bases on balls in the other three starts — eight in 15 innings — than he would prefer and has subsequently been limited in how deep he has been able to pitch.
“In my mind, a free pass is a free pass — you didn’t earn it, I gave it to you,” Kelly said. “In my mind, I would be more happy, I would be able to sleep at night, if I know that I attacked and I just got beat that day.”
Kelly is trying not to get too deep in the weeds on potential adjustments to his delivery. He does not think his misses have been extreme enough to warrant that. He also remembers times earlier in his career, like during the 2019 season, when he found himself trying to implement changes when none were needed.
“I feel like in 2019 I sometimes had a tendency to go down that hole a little bit and kind of overcorrect stuff,” he said. “Then you end up creating more problems and have to overcorrect again. I think it’s been a little off. I think it’s been pretty close. But the way I’ve felt this week, I think I’ve got it back.”
Fiery pitcher
Diamondbacks left-hander Madison Bumgarner was his typically demonstrative self during Monday night’s outing, barking at the home plate umpire over what he thought were missed calls. He said that while there were times earlier in his career when he thought he allowed his emotions to get the better of him, he said is now able to prevent that from happening.
“If you see me now, it’s completely gone when I throw the next pitch,” Bumgarner said. “Everything is on that next pitch. I can say that with 100 percent certainty.”
When asked for his thoughts, manager Torey Lovullo deferred to Bumgarner, but noted that he has had conversations with Bumgarner about “not necessarily letting that get you side tracked.”
“I love the intensity,” Lovullo said. “I love his spirit when he’s out there. If I feel like it’s getting in the way of him executing, I’ll definitely have a conversation with him. And not just him, every player.
“Baseball is hard enough. When you’re having an at-bat or you’re on the mound and you’re making pitches and you have two or three mood changes, the highs and the lows, that’s a lot to manage. I want to just simplify the game for everybody.”
Bumgarner said his anger on Monday night stemmed from the inconsistency of the strike zone.
"It’s frustrating when you throw balls that are all over the plate and they don’t call them, and then you throw one two inches off the plate and they do call them," Bumgarner said. "It ain’t that hard. It’s not. Everybody says it’s hard, but it’s not that hard."
Short hops
—Right-hander Jacob Webb, who was designated for assignment on June 5 to clear a roster spot for waiver claim Cole Tucker, was traded to the Atlanta Braves for cash considerations, returning him to his original organization. The Diamondbacks had claimed Webb off waivers from the Braves in April, but he did not appear in a big league game during his time with the organization.
—The Diamondbacks optioned right-hander Taylor Widener to Triple-A Reno to clear a spot for left-hander Tyler Gilbert, who started Tuesday night’s game. Widener gave up three runs in 1 2/3 innings in relief on Monday night.
—Lovullo said third baseman Josh Rojas and center fielder Alek Thomas were getting days off, something he said he had been targeting for each in recent days. “These guys have been going hard,” Lovullo said. “I don’t want to make anybody red-lining right now.”
Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or nick.piecoro@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks’ Merrill Kelly taking aim at control issues
