Merrill Kelly Falters Late in Loss to Padres

Issuing too many walks while failing to take any has become a Diamondbacks problem

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Merrill Kelly was protecting a 3-2 lead through five innings, but walked four of the last six batters he faced as he ran out of gas in the sixth inning. That  resulted in 5-3 loss to the Padres.  Walking batters late in games has become a consistent problem for a pitcher that was previously one of the most reliable strike throwers on the team.  He walked the final two batters faced in his first start March 31st, and did the same on April 11th. With five total walks today he has now walked 17 batters in 26.1 innings. 

The third time through the order in general has been a disaster for Kelly, with a batting against line of .462/.611/.846 the third time facing hitters. Those results and walks in particular suggest a pitcher that is feeling fatigued towards the end of games and struggling to slow things down due to the pitch timer. But Kelly did not feel that was an issue

"I don't feel like I'm sped up any more. I know a couple of those initial games in the beginning of the season I think was an adjustment period. I think I've done a decent job of managing the clock as of late."

Nor did Kelly feel that fatigue was an issue at all. He felt the ball was coming out of his hand good and his stuff was sharp, but he just wasn't able to command it and get ahead of hitters. 

Kelly gave up a solo home run to Fernando Tatis Jr in the top of the first inning on a high fly ball to left that was just 89.7 MPH exit velocity. It barely scraped over the wall but it was the fourth career home run Tatis has hit off of Kelly. His first walk of the game was to Xander Bogaerts, and was followed by a Matt Carpenter double off the centerfield wall, spotting the Padres to a 2-0 lead.  Kelly settled down for the next three innings, retiring nine in a row and striking out six. But he began to wobble again in the fifth, walking two batters around a double play. 

Then in the 6th inning he walked two batters sandwiched around a base hit, loading the bases with nobody out. Torey Lovullo finally pulled him in favor of Kyle Nelson.  Nelson almost pulled off a miracle, striking out Nelson Cruz and Jake Cronenworth, but Ha-Seong Kim hit a ground ball just past the outstretched glove of Geraldo Perdomo for a two run single that put the Padres up 4-3. 

Torey Lovullo said that the two walks in the fifth should have been a signal to him that Kelly was running out of gas. But the strikeout to end the fifth, a 93 MPH sinker on the black might have fooled him into thinking Kelly had more left in the tank. 

The offense, as is often the case, answered back right after the other team scored. In the bottom of the first  three straight singles by Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll, and Christian Walker gave the D-backs their first run.  Then in the third inning Carroll doubled and  Walker lifted a fly ball on a 2-0 slider high in the air and straight down the line into the Diamondbacks bullpen for a two-run homer. His shot was also just 93 MPH exit velocity but it was enough on a windy night inside Chase field. 

Asked if the ball was carrying better  with the roof and panels open Walker said "I think it was just the wind. When the roof is open the weather conditions are a thing. Today it happened to be real windy and you could feel that in the park. We were talking about it on fly balls and making sure we were communicating". Walker, who drove in all three runs, was hit by a pitch in the eight inning. After the game his arm was wrapped in ice as he spoke to the media and was in obvious discomfort. He said it was sore but felt he would be fine.  

That hit by pitch and three singles was all the offense the team could muster from the fourth inning on.  They failed to take even one walk, while the pitching staff, led by Kelly's five walks issued six in total. The D-backs have issued the third most walks in the league (93) while taking the fewest (40). Asked if he was concerned about this situation, Lovullo said "Yes, I'm aware of it. It's not a red alert. But I'm on it, paying attention to it."

Joe Musgrove, making his first start of the year, went five innings getting the win. Unlike last night, the San Diego bullpen shut down the D-backs the rest of the way. Josh Hader picked up his seventh save. 

There were a couple of defensive highlights for the D-backs. Corbin Carroll made a "Gold Star" catch on a ball that was almost impossible to run down, but somehow he did. Later Josh Rojas made an acrobatic play and throw on a tapper on the infield grass.  Prior to the game Lovullo praised the defensive improvements of Rojas, with the advice to "Watch his feet"

Best catch I’ve seen yet from Corbin Carroll
pic.twitter.com/jzhFOgYxtS

— Jack Sommers (@shoewizard59) April 23, 2023

We talked with Torey about Josh’s defense before the game. He said “Watch his feet”

pic.twitter.com/uZYZ173CAt

— Jack Sommers (@shoewizard59) April 23, 2023

The Diamondbacks will go for the series split tomorrow, sending Drey Jameson out to face Yu Darvish, game time 1:10 P.M. MST