© Patrick Breen / USA TODAY NETWORK
Merrill Kelly Pitches Gem in D-backs Victory Over Rockies
The offense slugged their way to a lead and Kelly made it stand up
Merrill Kelly pitched an efficient gem through 6 2/3 innings, allowing just one run, and the Diamondbacks lineup slugged their way to a 7-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Christian Walker, and Alek Thomas all homered as the offense rapped out 14 more hits after getting 18 base knocks the night before.
Down the stretch and into the postseason last year, Kelly was arguably not only the best pitcher on the team but one of the best in all of Major League Baseball. He continued to make a case for that recognition with his first outing of the year. Needing just 79 pitches to record 20 outs, Kelly gave up three hits, didn't walk a batter and struck out eight. The only blemish was a solo homer by Elias Diaz in the second inning.
Kelly actually needed 19 pitches to get out of the first inning, pitching around a two-out double off teh wall in center by Nolan Jones. He retired the last 15 batters he faced, before Torey Lovullo came sprinting out of the dugout to remove him with two outs in the 7th inning. That allowed Kelly to walk off the field to a loud standing ovation from a crowd of 29,480.
Discussing the early hook, Torey Lovullo explained his reasoning. "I was concerned about the up-downs to be honest with you. His pitch count was extremely low. I had some conversations with him about the seven updowns....I felt like lets not force it, let's get you to a pitch count." The pitch count Lovullo was targeting was 80.
Kelly was on the same page with his manager. "I was ok with coming right there . I don't think I made it through even five innings in spring......so the fact that there was two more up-downs than we had [previously] I was definitely more than ok with coming out right there."
Kelly was especially pleased with his slider in this game. He threw 14 of them, generating four whiffs on five swings, a couple of called strikes and foul ball. For a pitcher that already had five pitches he can command and throw in any count to develop a slider that is becoming a plus pitch seems almost unfair.
The offense picked up right where they left off after Thursday night's record-breaking Opening Day. Gurriel homered in the first inning for the second straight night with a majestic fly ball that bounced off the back wall of the D-backs bullpen. Christian Walker followed with a laser homer to the left field bleachers, spotting Kelly a 2-0 lead.
Ketel Marte collected the first of his three hits in the 3rd, stole second, and later scored on a chopper up the middle by Joc Pederson. Marte is the first D-back to start the season with back to back three-hit games. Pederson had a four-hit night, the first time a Diamondbacks has done that in his debut with the team.
The big blow to bust the game open, however, came off the bat of Alek Thomas in the 6th. At that point, it was still a 4-1 game. With two men on, he turned on a 96 MPH fastball up and in, hitting it 400 feet into the right field bleachers. Thomas appears to be a strong breakout candidate this year.
Speaking about the homer after the game Thomas said "The first pitch of that at bat it was high and tight, and I check swung, and I'm like all right, lets calm it down and get something good to hit here . I was in a good position to hit that ball . I think that's probably the first time I've hit a fastball 96-97 on the inner part of the plate and hit it out. That was a good feeling."
We're seeing the maturing of this hitter before our eyes in this early part of the season. If Thomas is able to maintain this approach throughout the year, coupled with his spectacular defense in center, he could be an extremely valuable player for the Diamondbacks.
