Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly aiming to conquer Dodgers demons in NLDS opener
LOS ANGELES — Merrill Kelly did not attempt to deny his excitement Friday evening, sitting in the media room beneath a stadium that would, 24 hours later, be packed with 56,000 fans cheering on his demise.
For a player who has never pitched in the postseason, Kelly has an unusual catalog of big stages in his past. There was the 2007 Arizona 5A high school state championship game with Scottsdale Desert Mountain, his first taste of hostility. There was the College World Series with Arizona State in 2010. Eight years later, he won the Korean Series with SK Wyverns, punctuating his four years overseas. And just this March, he started for the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic championship game in front of a roaring crowd in Miami.
Yet, even amid that experience, getting the ball for Game 1 of the NLDS on Saturday is an assignment that stands out. “Pretty special,” as Kelly described it.
“Obviously my journey is a little bit different than everybody else to get to this point,” Kelly said. “But I couldn't be more happy, more, just honored and excited for tomorrow.”
It’s an assignment that carries its share of demons. Since signing with the Diamondbacks and making his debut in 2019, Kelly is 48-43 with a 3.80 ERA. Gradually, he’s developed into a veritable front-line starter.
That is, against 28 teams. In 16 starts against the Dodgers, Kelly is 0-11 with a 5.49 ERA. Half of those starts have come at this ballpark, where Kelly’s ERA is a ghastly 7.03.
In theory, the Diamondbacks’ great advantage against the Dodgers lies in their top two starting pitchers. Whereas the Dodgers’ rotation has its worst collective ERA in 94 years, Gallen and Kelly are among the best pitchers in the National League. Thanks to a hefty dosage of off days, each team only needs three starting pitchers in this round, amplifying their potential impact.
“We feel like this puts us in a really good position because 1A and 1B are going to be able to potentially start four of these five games,” Lovullo said.
That’s all fine and well — if Kelly can be himself. Gallen, for his part, has had no problems with the Dodgers. His 3.48 ERA against them is roughly in line with expectation when you take a pitcher whose career ERA is 3.21 and match him against one of the most explosive offenses in baseball.
Kelly’s struggles, meanwhile, don’t expand beyond the Dodgers. He’s pitched well against just about every other potent lineup. Name the best offenses since he entered the league — Atlanta, Houston, Philadelphia, the Yankees, St. Louis, San Diego — and none have been particularly strong against Kelly.
The Dodgers, though? That’s something he can’t quite explain.
“It's a bit of a mystery, a bit of a puzzle for me to solve,” Kelly said.
That puzzle is something the Diamondbacks are taking aim at this week. On Friday, Lovullo promised some “quality adjustments” but not “wholesale adjustments.” Perhaps there’s a change to be made given that the Dodgers have been the best team in baseball against changeups — Kelly’s best pitch — since 2019. Then again, they’re generally excellent against every type of pitch.
“For whatever reason there are certain players and certain teams throughout your career and your life in baseball that you kind of run into that just seem to have your number,” Kelly said. “Unfortunately, throughout my career, this team seems to be that team for me.”
Even with the promise of minor tweaks, that’s not something weighing heavily on Kelly’s mind, at least not until it became a talking point during Friday’s press conference.
“I can't sit here and dwell on them,” Kelly said. “The more I sit on them and the more I think about how they haven't gone my way, I'm behind the 8-ball before the game starts.”
Instead, the goal is to just go out tomorrow and be himself. Because himself, this year, was a pitcher who worked to a 3.29 ERA — fifth-best in the National League.
If that’s the version Kelly brings Saturday night, the Diamondbacks might, at last, find themselves with the upper hand at Dodger Stadium.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kelly aiming to conquer Dodgers demons in NLDS opener
