Diamondbacks at Rockies August 14th Preview

Merrill Kelly is back on the mound after leg cramp scare

The Diamondbacks (59-59) visit Coors field for the second time this season to play the Rockies (45-73) in a three game series starting tonight at 5:40pm Arizona Time. The team also announced a roster move, with Jake McCarthy getting optioned to Triple-A Reno and Kyle Lewis getting recalled from Reno. 

It'll be Lewis' third stint on the big league roster, earned by hitting .361/.463/.650 with 14 home runs in 47 games in Triple-A. On the flip side, McCarthy has struggled to make quality contact this season after a fourth place finish in a breakthrough 2022 season. The lack of quality contact and slug has limited his offensive ceiling, which has been an issue since he's played primarily right field this season. 

Preview

The D-backs pulled out of a nine game losing streak by taking the final two games of a three game series with San Diego over the weekend. Some tough words from manager Torey Lovullo to the team after Friday night's loss, follwed by a roster shakeup may have jolted them out of their doldrums. They are 2.5 games out of a wild card spot with three teams in front of them however and it's critical that they get off on the right foot on this road trip if they are to create any real momentum to get back into a playoff position. 

The Rockies are coming off a 3-7 road trip that included getting swept by the Dodgers in four games at Dodger Stadium. They're 20-43 on the road but a much more respectable 25-30 at home despite getting outscored by 100 runs at Coors field. No matter how bad the Rockies are, it's still very tough to go up to Denver and sweep them. That's been done twice this year however, once by the Pirates in April and again by the Giants in early July.  The D-backs took two of three the last time they came to Coors field in late April.

Pitching Matchup

Merrill Kelly, 9-5, 3.05 ERA in 118 IP, will be on the mound for Arizona. Kelly had to be pulled from his start in the middle of an at bat to start the top of the 7th when he experienced a leg cramp. After the game he said it was a cramping in the hamstring area, likely due to dehydration from sweating a lot on a muggy night in Chase Field. 

He left that game having thrown six scoreless innings, giving up six hits and two walks and striking out two. Since returning from a one month absence due to a blood clot in his calf Kelly has made four starts and pitched extremely well in three of them, totaling 23 innings and pitching to a 2.35 ERA. He hasn't been able to pick up a win in this stretch though due to poor run support, going 0-1 with three no decisions. 

While the missed time will preclude Kelly from reaching an annual goal of 200 innings pitched, he still should be able to qualify for the ERA title, (requiring 162 IP). His 3.05 ERA currently ranks third in the league behind only Justin Steele (2.79) and Blake Snell, (2.63)

Chris Flexen, 1-5,  7.92 ERA in 55.1 IP, is not having a good year. The 29-year-old right-hander was coming off two solid seasons in 2021-22, throwing a combined 317 innings with a 3.66 ERA and a 22-15 record for the Mariners. But after making four starts in April and posting a 10.38 ERA he was moved to the bullpen. Things did not improve as he allowed runs in seven straight relief outings between May 26th and June 22nd.  Placed on waivers, he was traded to the Mets on July 3rd, and then released by the Mets on July 6th without ever having pitched for them. 

Flexen latched on with the Rockies and after two starts in Albuquerque he was brought up to fill a slot in a rotation that has been decimated by injuries. Only Austin Gomber and Kyle Freeland remain standing from the Rockies original rotation. Things have not gone any better with Colorado however. In three starts, 13.2 innings he's given up 14 runs on 22 hits, eight walks and six homers while striking out 10.  However with their rotation decimated by injuries, the Rockies have little choice but to keep running Flexen out there it seems. 

Flexen's fastball averages 91.8 MPH. He also throws a cutter and changeup and will mix in a few sliders and sweepers along the way. The change has long been his best pitch and is effective against left hand batters, giving him a very large and credible reverse split. He has a .879 OPS against RHB and .725 OPS against LHB. Arizona will start three left-handed hitters and two switch hitters in their starting lineup, as you can see below.

Lineups

Michael McDermott

Gabriel Moreno is making his first start at catcher since coming off the IL. He got into yesterday's win against the Padres as a late inning replacement and singled in his only at bat. The only D-backs hitter to face Flexen more than five times in his career is Ketel Marte, who is 0-7 with two walks.  

The Rockies are without Kris Bryant (fractured index finger) and Jurickson Profar, who injured his knee yesterday and is getting an MRI. Charlie Blackmon was just activated from the IL today after missing two months with a right hand fracture. Ryan McMahon is just 6-for-27, .222 against Kelly, but does have two homers. Brendan Rodgers is 4-for-13, .308 with two doubles. 

Bullpens

Paul Sewald has converted two straight save opportunities, but had worked on back-to-back games and threw 22 pitches in yesterday's game. Kevin Ginkel threw 30 pitches yesterday and 15 the day before that. With a bullpen game coming up tomorrow, it's not clear if Torey Lovullo can afford to stay away from his two best relievers. Everyone else is well rested, and the D-backs will hope to get length from Kelly and have a comfortable lead tonight to set up the rest of the series. 

Justin Lawrence has been closing for the Rockies with mixed results. He took over the role on June 2nd and since then has appeared in 24 games and has a 2.67 ERA with nine saves, but four blown.  Last year's closer Daniel Bard has been working in a setup role all year. Up through the all star break he had a 1.71 ERA. But since the break he's appeared in 13 games and given up 10.1 runs in 11 innings of work, inflating his season ERA to 3.42.