Kelly Gets His Work in, Lawlar Shines as D-backs Rout the Mariners

The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Seattle Mariners 11 to 4 at Salt River Fields Thursday night. It was a split squad game, as the other half of the roster was in Goodyear playing the Cleveland Guardians.

The D-backs out-hit Seattle to 15 to 8, drew six walks, and didn't commit an error. The Mariners played a sloppy game, committing an error, throwing two wild pitches, and had a leadoff runner picked off. A tired but satisfied Torey Lovullo spoke after the game.

"You look at 15 hits, six walks, 21 baserunners, that's our identity, that's what we've done here really well. We checked off on the pitches we're not ready to hit, and waiting for the ones we do want to hit. That's the name of game," Lovullo said.

Merrill Kelly got his work in, going 2.1 innings and throwing 48 pitches, allowing two runs. The third up-down was important to Lovullo. He threw just 30 strikes, and walked two batters while allowing four hits. A pickoff play and three strikeouts helped limit any damage, as Kelly got nine whiffs on 23 swings.

The velocity was a little lower than his last time out, perhaps a result of the cooler weather. Kelly said that a couple of the pitches he threw that resulted in walks just barely missed. In fact he challenged a ball four to Mitch Haniger and lost the challenge on a close call. Overall he was happy with the outing and what he accomplished. For a veteran like Kelly, spring pitching lines mean little.

Yilber Diaz threw two scoreless innings without giving up a hit. He walked two in the fourth, but a fly out and strikeout ended the threat. He retired the side in order in the fifth.

A key development for the young fireballer was flashing his new changeup to get to two strikes on the third batter of the inning, He then came back with a 97 MPH fastball to get the swinging strikeout.

If Diaz develops a good changeup as a fourth pitch to go with his slider and curveball, it would give him elite potential.

Relievers Ryan Thompson and Drey Jameson threw scoreless frames. Bryce Jarvis was not so fortunate, as he allowed a run on two hits and a walk.

The offense put four runs on the board in the second inning against Mariners starter Jhonathan Díaz. Kristian Robinson got it started by drawing a two-out walk. Jorge Barrosa and Ketel Marte singled to load the bases.

Utility infielder hopeful Garrett Hampson followed with a two-run base knock, and Josh Naylor drove in one more with a bloop hit to right. Hampson came around to score from third on a delayed double steal play for the fourth run. Hampson and Naylor both finished with two base hits. Marte had three hits and scored a run.

The D-backs' minor leaguers broke the game open with seven runs in the seventh inning against the Mariners' minor league relievers. The inning was highlighted by a Jordan Lawlar RBI triple, scoring Druw Jones. It was Lawlar's second hit of the game. Jones also had a single, a double and walk.

One down note was Jorge Barrosa getting hit on the forearm with a pitch in the inning. He went down to first base, but was removed from the game in obvious pain. He did not require x-rays however, and Lovullo said he would be fine.

Box Score

One other note is that Lovullo confirmed Corbin Carroll and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. will both play in the game on Friday at Temp Diablo Stadium against the Angels. Zac Gallen is slated to start, but rain is in the forecast, so stay tuned to Arizona Diamondbacks On SI for updates.

Kelly Gets His Work in, Lawlar Shines as D-backs Rout the Mariners

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