D-backs Avoid Sweep Thanks to Kelly's Masterful Start

Kelly stayed one step ahead of Boston hitters all day, holding them to one run in 6.1 innings and struck out 10.

With the Diamondbacks on a three-game losing streak, Merrill Kelly was tasked with the role of "Stopper" today. He did just that, holding the Boston Red Sox to one run in 6 1/3 innings in a 4-2 win. Kelly allowed just four hits, walked two, and struck out 10. 

Much of his success came down to staying a step ahead of the Red Sox hitters. Six of his 10 strikeouts were looking, with all of them coming on fastballs.

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"It seems to me they were sitting soft with two strikes, and Merrill and Gabby [Moreno] got ahead of that" said D-backs manager Torey Lovullo. "They started to pick that apart for a few innings, there were several fastball strikes taken for Strike Three. You don't see that a lot in the big leagues, so they clearly gameplanned, sat soft and Merrill did a great job of counterpunching."

After only scoring three runs in their past 25 innings, the D-backs broke out the bats early against Tanner Houck. In the first nine hitters of the game, Arizona had six hits and scored four runs against Houck. Ketel Marte had the first of five straight hits, extending his on-base streak to 27 games. Corbin Carroll followed it up with a opposite field, two-run home run for his eighth of the season.

106 MPH blast to the opposite field for Carroll. Wow is he impressive! pic.twitter.com/nuzvBubBri

— Michael McDermott (@MichaelMcD8393) May 28, 2023

"It was great to see Corbin get us off that little bit of an offensive rut with that big two run home run" said Lovullo. "It was clearly evident to me that our guys went out there with an all-fields approach. When we do have an all-field approach, we end up being selective. We start to become unpredictable and can end up slugging as we did in a couple situations."

That held true in Geraldo Perdomo's at-bat to start the second inning. After jumping ahead 3-0 against Houck, Perdomo got a sinker to hit and lined a ball over the right field wall for his fifth home run of the year. 

The Perdomo second year breakout continues. pic.twitter.com/Q4MDQ8db0q

— Michael McDermott (@MichaelMcD8393) May 28, 2023

However they were not able to tack on to their early lead. After Josh Rojas singled in the D-backs first at-bat with runners in scoring position, the team went hitless in their final six at-bats in that situation. That allowed Boston hitters to start chipping at the bullpen in the seventh and eighth innings, but the four-run lead proved to be enough. 

Andrew Chafin allowed an inherited runner to score, but also came up with a big strikeout of Rafael Devers to end the seventh to leave the bases loaded. That proved to be huge as Justin Turner homered to lead off the eighth inning. José Ruiz came in with the tying runs on base and Raimel Tapia made a bid for a go-ahead home run that fell just short. Miguel Castro allowed an infield hit, but struck out Turner to close out the game for his fifth save on the season.

The win pushes Arizona to 30-23, as they'll welcome the Colorado Rockies for the next four games. The Rockies began the season 8-20, but have won 16 of their last 26 games to get to 24-30. Tomorrow's pitching matchup features a pair of rookies, as Ryne Nelson will face Karl Kauffman. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 PM at Chase Field.