Merrill Kelly in command as Diamondbacks hold off Red Sox
Whenever Boston Red Sox hitters seemed to be thinking one thing, Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly was thinking something else. Time and again on Sunday afternoon, Kelly seemed to throw pitches that caught the Red Sox by surprise — either with pitch selection or location.
His performance over 6 1/3 innings of the Diamondbacks’ 4-2 win at Chase Field prompted Red Sox manager Alex Cora to lavish about the highest praise imaginable for a pitcher of Kelly’s profile: Cora compared him to Greg Maddux.
“In an era that people talk about overpowering stuff and all that, his command is perfect, similar to, back in the day, like Maddux,” Cora said. “He put it wherever he wanted to.”
Kelly gave up just one run while tying a season high with 10 strikeouts. The Diamondbacks scored three times in the first — an inning in which they recorded five consecutive hits, including a two-run homer by Corbin Carroll — and added another run in the second on Geraldo Perdomo’s solo shot. The bullpen did the rest, with Miguel Castro earning the save by working a scoreless ninth with a pair of strikeouts.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Diamondbacks and allowed them to preserve their sweepless record. That is to say, while they have not swept an opponent in a series, they also have yet to be swept.
“I think when young teams are trying to evolve and establish their own identity, they don’t want to lose three games in a row,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “They don’t want to get swept. I think it speaks about their character, their heart and their passion for what needs to be done.”
Kelly struck out at least 10 batters for the fourth time in his career and the second time this season. Six of his strikeouts on Sunday came on called third strikes.
“It looked like he was one step ahead of where their game plan was,” Lovullo said. “It seems to me they were sitting soft with two strikes and Merrill and (catcher Gabriel Moreno) got ahead of that.”
To Lovullo’s point, all six of Kelly’s called third strikes came on hard stuff — fastballs, sinkers or cutters. Kelly locked up Jarren Duran and Triston Casas in the second inning and Enmanuel Valdez in the third on cutters. In striking out the side the sixth, he froze Alex Verdugo on a sinker, Rafael Devers on a four-seamer and Masataka Yoshida on a cutter.
Kelly traced those called third strikes to both his game plan against the Red Sox and the effectiveness of his change-up.
“I thought that team liked spin a lot; they like curveballs and sliders in the zone,” Kelly said. “And a lot of the lefties don’t handle change-ups all that well. I think when I started throwing good change-ups to them, I think their game plan kind of switched to looking for the change-up, kind of sitting on the change-up, and then the hard stuff away kind of opened up.”
Cora’s comparison to Maddux felt particularly apt when applied to the Verdugo strikeout. Maddux, the Hall of Fame right-hander best remembered for his time with the Atlanta Braves, was a master of throwing his sinker with late life, a so-called “comeback” fastball that would start off the plate and somehow tail back across for a strike. It was just that sort of pitch from Kelly that locked up Verdugo on the inside corner in the sixth.
“That’s pitchability,” Cora said. “We put good at-bats (against him). We got to 3-2 counts and all that, but he made pitches. He started mixing it up with the backdoor cutter and the four-seamer away. He threw the two-seamer in to (Verdugo), the breaking ball to Jarren. He can pitch.”
In allowing one run on Sunday, Kelly has now given up just 10 earned runs in 37 1/3 innings over his past six starts. That works out to a 2.41 ERA. He has logged at least six innings in seven of his past nine starts.
“I’d like to think everything,” Kelly said when asked what has been working for him. “Fastball location has been a lot better. Cutter is coming along, especially the backdoor ones, and the change-up I think is probably the difference maker. When I’m throwing good change-ups, I think it kind of opens up everything else.”
The win was the Diamondbacks’ 30th of the season in their 53rd game. They did not reach win No. 30 last year until game No. 65. Lovullo said he isn’t surprised his club has started the way it has.
“I could tell quickly that, even though we weren’t playing our best baseball the first 10-12 days of the season, that there was some team chemistry here and they were riding together,” Lovullo said. “I felt like this team could win some baseball games. Thirty is a nice big number. … We want to increase that number.”
Coming up
Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (1-2, 5.02) vs. Rockies RHP Karl Kauffmann (0-2, 9.35).
Nelson turned in a strong start against the Phillies last week, giving up just one run in six innings, with no walks and four strikeouts. In four starts this month he owns a 3.00 ERA with six walks and 17 strikeouts in 21 innings. … Nelson has pitched more effectively with his fastball of late. Opponents hit .382 off the pitch in the first month of the season, when he averaged 93.9 mph, but have hit .255 against it in May, during which time the pitch has ticked up to 95.2 mph. … Kauffmann, a 2019 second-round pick out of Michigan, will be making his third career start. His first two did not go particularly well. He has allowed a total of 10 runs (nine earned) in 8 2/3 innings, walking five and striking out six. … He had a 7.78 ERA in eight starts in hitter-friendly Triple-A Albuquerque before being promoted earlier this month. … He averages just 90.3 mph with is sinker. He also throws a four-seam fastball, change-up and slider.
Tuesday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (6-2, 2.97) vs. Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (4-5, 3.86).
Wednesday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Tommy Henry (2-1, 4.50) vs. Rockies RHP Connor Seabold (1-2, 5.94).
Thursday: At Chase Field, 12:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zach Davies (0-1, 5.68) vs. Rockies RHP Chase Anderson (0-0, 1.31).
What to know about the Colorado Rockies
The Rockies lost two out of three to the Diamondbacks in Denver at the end of April, dropping their record to 9-20. They have played better since, entering Sunday with a 14-10 record in May. They took three of four from the Marlins last week and entered their series finale against the Mets with a chance to take two of three. Several of their hitters have been productive this month, including OF Randal Grichuk (.343 average, .889 OPS) and C Elias Diaz (.351, .980). OF Jurickson Profar has two homers, 10 walks and a .286 average in May. Even their pitching staff has been better. Former Diamondbacks RHP Chase Anderson has provided a lift, turning in three starts with a 1.72 ERA since being claimed off waivers from the Rays. LHP Kyle Freeland (3.24 ERA in May) and LHP Austin Gomber (4.40 ERA) have kept the Rockies in games this month.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Merrill Kelly in command as Diamondbacks hold off Red Sox
