Merrill "The Mainstay" Kelly Reaches 200 Innings
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After his start on September 24th against the Giants, Merrill Kelly was asked about his personal goal of reaching 200 innings.
"That's pretty important to me, to be honest with you. You've heard me talk about for four years now on what I pride myself on as far as being a starting pitcher, and that's definitely eating as many innings as I can. I feel like that 200 mark is a big one for starting pitching, especially nowadays."
Indeed, in the modern game pitchers need to go max effort to navigate lineups because unlike earlier eras, hitters one through nine can take you deep at any time. At the same time teams are less willing to let pitchers face the lineup the third time through. The result has been fewer and fewer 200 inning seasons since the Diamondbacks came into the league 24 years ago in 1998. That year there were 52 such seasons in MLB. Last year there were four.
Coming into play today there were just five pitchers who had already reached 200 innings in 2022. Two pitchers crossed that threshold in this game. Corbin Burnes came in with 199 innings, and pitched three scoreless innings before coming out of the game. Kelly reached the milestone in the sixth inning. The last time a Diamondbacks pitcher went 200 innings was in 2018, when Patrick Corbin and Zack Greinke did it.
Things didn't look promising for Kelly when the game started. He began the first inning with a 10 pitch walk to Christian Yelich, who was later caught stealing on a great throw from Carson Kelly. He gave up a single to Willy Adames, but then got the next two batters, using 20 pitches to get through the inning. He needed 18 more pitches in the second inning, working around a one out walk and a stolen base.
Kelly was more efficient in the third and fourth innings, needing just 23 pitches to retire all six batters. Milwaukee got to him in the sixth for one in the fifth. A single by Keston Huira and double by Victor Caratini gave the Brewers second and third with one out. A ground out to third by Tyrone Taylor scored the line run Kelly gave up today.
In the sixth inning a base hit and a groundout put another runner in scoring position for the Brewers. But Kelly struck out Luis Urias and Caron Kelly threw out Willy Adames trying to steal third for the inning ending double play.
That was all for Kelly, as Torey Lovullo turned it over to the bullpen with the game tied at 1-1. Kelly's final line was was Six innings, four hits, 1 earned run, two walks and seven K's. He finishes the year 13-8, 3.37 ERA. He led the team in starts with 33 and innings with 200.1, earning the nickname "The Mainstay".
The offense started slowly today thanks to Burnes electric stuff dominating the first three innings. He didn't allow a baserunner while striking out five. Burnes 243 strikeouts led the National League in 2022. But Craig Counsel pulled him after three innings and went to the bullpen.
The D-backs immediately pounced on reliever Aaron Ashby. Pavin Smith singled with one out and advanced to second on a fielding error by the left fielder. One out later Christian Walker singled him home for his 94th RBI of the season. Josh Rojas doubled to the wall in right center but Walker was thrown out at home trying to score on a great relay throw from Adames.
The D-backs had a runner in scoring position in each of the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings but failed to score. It looked like those missed opportunities would come back to haunt when Sean Poppen gave up a go ahead solo homer to Rowdy Tellez in the eighth, breaking the 1-1 tie. Poppen had come in when Caleb Smith had to exit with a left elbow injury with two outs. After the game Torey Lovullo said Smith would receive imaging tomorrow. Smith had become a very effective long man out of the bullpen and it would be a big loss for the team's 2023 plans if he were to require surgery.
Despite that setback, the D-backs would not be denied. Walker lead off with a single, his third hit of the game. Josh Rojas then came up and launched his ninth homer of the year for the 3-2 lead. Corbin Carroll went yard next, upping the lead to 4-2.
Kevin Ginkel closed out the win with a scoreless ninth for his first save of the year. The Diamondbacks finish on a high note and a season ending record of 74-88, a 22 win improvement over 2021. After the game Torey Lovullo said about the late comeback: "Our guys are intense, they don't shut down".
With a bevy of young players that arrived this season and performed well, and more on the way, the team is on the right path and if they can address their bullpen issues should have a good chance to finish over .500 in 2023 and compete for a playoff spot.
