Torey Lovullo, Merrill Kelly Ejected in Bizarre Diamondbacks Win

A strange sequence of events in the middle innings led to a tight win over Baltimore.

Apr 8, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo (17) argues with first base umpire Laz Diaz (63) during the seventh inning after being thrown out of the game against the Baltimore Orioles as third base umpire Brian O'Nora (7) attempts the separate the two at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks took a 4-3 lead down to the wire, holding on through a strange game to defeat the Baltimore Orioles. Merrill Kelly was excellent, as was the bullpen.

Kelly initially appeared to be headed toward another difficult outing, after giving up a career-high nine runs in his start against the Yankees in the Bronx. He got the first out on one pitch, but then surrendered a walk, hit-by-pitch and pair of singles to afford the Orioles an early 2-0 lead.

Kelly settled in admirably after that, however. He set down the next 11 straight batters, with an error by Eugenio Suárez on a tough play as Baltimore's only baserunner from innings two through five.

Kelly went back out for the seventh following a 1-2-3 sixth, but a missed call by first base umpire Laz Diaz afforded the Orioles a leadoff walk rather than a strikeout, ending Kelly's night.

He finished with six strong innings, three hits, two earned runs, two walks and four strikeouts. While maybe not the most dominant start, Kelly did get a Quality Start, and much better results than his last time out.

Kelly was subsequently ejected, assumedly for barking at Diaz on his way to the dugout, and manager Torey Lovullo followed after a very heated verbal argument with the umpire.

"[Kelly] didn't tell me what he said, I'm sure he said something under his breath, but at that point, things were already heated, so you've just got to kind of walk off the field, but as soon as you turn, you're going to get thrown out," Lovullo told reporters postgame.

"I think the baseball world saw what was going on and what happened with that swing. Umpires don't try to miss calls, and that's the gray area that we fight for."

Lovullo said that was the second time Kelly had been ejected while walking off the field, and subsequently the second time the skipper joined him with an ejection of his own. The manager noted his relationship with Diaz.

"I go back a long way with [Umpire Laz Diaz]. ... We were talking about it a little bit today. I've probably known Laz close to 30 years. He's an exceptional umpire. I'm just fighting for space and fighting for what I think is right, and he's trying to protect what he called.

"So I respect the heck out of Laz. He's a great umpire, but it just got away from me there a little bit, say a couple things that you shouldn't say, and you get whacked yourself," Lovullo said.

Kelly addressed his ejection with reporters postgame, including Diamondbacks On SI's Jack Sommers.

"I honestly didn't even realize that I was thrown out until I got back to the dugout and then [bench coach Jeff Bannister] came and grabbed me and then told me that [Diaz] threw me out," said Kelly. "It's funny, both times I've gotten thrown out has been when I'm leaving the game,"

"I don't think there's really anything else to say. I said my peace on the field and I'll leave it at that."

Once Kelly exited, RHP Shelby Miller entered to put out the fire, with runners at first and second, no outs. He collected a lineout, then hit a batter, and what followed was utter chaos.

With two outs, Jackson Holliday flied out to shallow left field. A sliding catch by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. got one out, but a misfired throw home resulted in a run for the Orioles. However, it was determined after an exceptionally lengthy replay that Tyler O'Neill did not properly tag up from second to third base, and he was tagged out by Suárez at third.

Baltimore was given their run, but the inning ended there with a 4-3 Diamondbacks lead.

Arizona's offense was able to get just enough. They managed hit-by-pitch and a pair of walks in the first inning, but all they could come away with was an RBI double play by Josh Naylor.

Corbin Carroll then tied things up at two apiece with his fourth homer of the season in the third inning, lining a ball nearly 107 MPH off the bat to right field off Orioles' starter Charlie Morton. He finished his night 2-for-3 with the homer, a single and two runs score. Carroll raised his average to .304, and his OPS to 1.103 as he continues to swing a hot bat.

After a walk and two-out ground-rule double by Pavin Smith, Naylor came through, sending a double of his own screaming down the right field line. It was nearly 110 MPH off the bat, and gave the D-backs a 4-2 lead. That double was the D-backs' only hit with runners inscoring position, as they went 1-for-10 on the game.

Outside of the reviewed play in the seventh inning, Arizona's bullpen did its job admirably. Miller had no hits, walks or earned runs on his line, A.J. Puk allowed a hit, but made a nice defensive play to nab Jorge Mateo in a rundown and finish with a scoreless inning. Justin Martinez dialed up a game-ending double play for a scoreless save.

"We got into a little bit of a street fight, and I was proud of the guys for showing some toughness and resiliency and battling back and doing things in a very uncommon way, which is very normal to us," Lovullo said.