Diamondbacks Crush Clayton Kershaw and Dodgers in 11-2 Victory

Gabriel Moreno hit a three run homer in the first inning and Merrill Kelly got his first win against the Dodgers

"In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened.“  Many years ago, 1988 to be exact, Dodger's broadcasting legend Vin Scully spoke those words in response to a Kirk Gibson's game winning home run in the World Series. Those words came to mind tonight as the Diamondbacks unexpectedly teed off on Clayton Kershaw in the top of the first inning for six runs, knocking him out of the box with just one out recorded. The Diamondbacks went on to win game one of the National League Division series 11-2.

It's difficult to fathom just how quick and total the D-backs destruction of Kershaw transpired. The game began with Ketel Marte scorching a 116 MPH line drive to left center the went off James Outman's glove. The hit was scored a double,  and Marte said afterwards "if you hit the ball 116, it's never an easy catch, especially a line drive". Marte came around to score on a single from Corbin Carroll. Tommy Pham singled, and Christian Walker ripped an RBI double to score Carroll. The best was yet to come. 

Gabriel Moreno had suffered a head injury on a back swing in game two against the Brewers and had to be removed from the game. There was concern he might need to enter the concussion protocol, but he never did. Insisting he felt fine, and clearing all tests, he was back in the lineup tonight. Facing Kershaw with two on and nobody out, he worked the count full after falling behind 0-2. He then got a hanging slider on the inner half of the plate and deposited 419 feet into the left field bleachers for a crushing three-run homer and a 5-0 D-backs lead before an out was recorded. 

The D-backs were not done torturing Kershaw. Evan Longoria doubled home Alek Thomas who had drawn a walk and that was all for Kershaw. The future Hall of Famer trudged off the mound to more than just a smattering of boos with yet another epic postseason failure on his resume. With the veteran hurler once again battling injuries, it's very possible that this was Kershaw's last start of his storied career. It would be a bitter pill to swallow to end on such a sour note. 

Corbin Carroll led off a three run second inning against Dodger rookie Emmet Sheehan  with a long home run and the route was on. Staked to a 9-0 lead, Merrill Kelly finally had everything he needed in place to register his first win against the Dodgers. He came in 0-11 in 16 career starts against LA.  With such a large lead he was able to be aggressive. The Dodgers tried gamely to mount a rally with a hit in each of the first three innings, but Kelly would not allow it.  Perhaps due to some adrenaline his stuff was up two miles per hour across the board and he shut down each effort by LA to mount an offensive.  From the 3rd through the 6th innings he retired 11 straight batters, inducing mostly soft contact along the way. 

After a leadoff walk and a strikeout to start the 7th, Lovullo pulled Kelly to let the bullpen finish out the game. An incredulous Kelly stood on the mound with a look of disbelief. Soon after though he was smiling and laughing with his manager who obviously was making the move to save him some pitches for later in the series should he be needed to start Game 4.  Kelly had said yesterday that he was confident and would love to get his first win against the Dodgers in a playoff game. With the victory his final line was 6.1 IP, 3H, 0 R, 2BB, 5K.

We are all Merrill Kelly, lol pic.twitter.com/ULbqSNyyNY

— Jack Sommers (@shoewizard59) October 8, 2023

Alek Thomas had a 14 pitch at bat that ended in a solo homer to right, his second of the postseason.  According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com on X,  "That’s the most pitches in a PA ending in a HR in the postseason since pitch counts have started being tracked (1988)!"  Of the four home runs hit by Diamondbacks players tonight, three of them came from players 23 or younger. It's only the second time that's happened in MLB post season history according to Langs.

Tommy Pham also hit a solo homer to go with his three singles. At that point the score was 11-0.  Miguel Castro gave up two meaningless runs on two walks and a Will Smith triple to get to the final score. 

With the Victory the D-backs now take a 1-0 lead in the series, insuring there will be at least two home games at Chase Field.  After an off day tomorrow, game two  of the NLDS will be Monday night, first pitch at 6:07 P.M. PST.  Zac Gallen will face Dodgers rookie Bobby Miller. 

Stay tuned to Inside the Diamondbacks for more complete coverage including player and manager quotes and videos to follow.