Diamondbacks Go for the Sweep Behind Merrill Kelly

The Arizona Diamondbacks are going for the sweep over the New York Yankees after winning the first two games by a combined score of 11-8. They've had excellent pitching and some clutch hitting to get their first series win of the season. Game time is 4:05 p.m.

Wednesday's game was a thing of beauty, as Zac Gallen dominated the Yankees' lineup and looked the best he has since early 2023. Meanwhile, the offense did just enough to win by scoring four early runs off of Carlos Rodon.

While the bullpen had its first hiccup with Ryan Thompson allowing two hits in the ninth inning before A.J. Puk gave up a three-run homer that was a Yankee Stadium home run, it still got the job done. Arizona's relief corp did show its first sign of bending, but didn't break.

The D-backs could get their first sweep of the season and maintain their proximity to the undefeated Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres while closing up the gap on the San Francisco Giants who are 5-1.

Starting Pitchers

Merrill Kelly is on the mound for Arizona. The veteran starter is looking to have a big season to earn an extension of his own from Arizona after he said he wants to stay in town for the long-term last season.

Kelly started his season off hot with 5.1 innings of strong pitching. He struck out only one and walked four but gave up only one run on three hits. He successfully made pitches when they needed to be made and worked around traffic to get the D-backs their first win of the season.

Kelly will have to do what Gallen did on Wednesday — commanding the fastball well and utilizing great off-speed pitches to get plenty of strikes and whiffs.

However, if he struggles with location occasionally like his last start, it could get choppy as the Yankees are unlikely to miss on hittable pitches and have plenty of power to reach the short porches.

That means that Kelly must be effective with his location and induce weak contact while keeping hitters guessing with his versatile six-pitch arsenal to get the D-backs a victory.

In his past against the Yankees, he has excelled. Over three starts and 17.1 innings, he has a 2.60 ERA, five walks, and 11 strikeouts with 14 hits given up. He faced the Yankees a year ago this Thursday evening and pitched seven innings with five hits, two runs, one walk, and four strikeouts. The D-backs will need that again in Thursday's game.

Opposing the D-backs will be 38-year-old right-handed pitcher Carlos Carrasco. Carrasco signed in Spring Training to serve on the Yankees' rotation after they lost three starting pitchers to injuries.

He made one appearance earlier this year, a two-inning stint, in which he struggled against the Brewers. Over those two innings, he gave up five hits, three runs, and a homer, but did strike out two. It's not known how stretched out he is for his first start of the season, but it's likely he will be able to go around five innings.

In his long career, he has pitched strong against Arizona. Over five outings and 26.1 innings, he's garnered a terrific 2.05 ERA with 15 hits, six runs, and five walks given up. He struck out 24, however, he did give up four home runs.

He has a four-pitch mix, a 90.9 mph sinker, 84.5 mph slider, 92.7 four-seam, and a 85.4 changeup. Last year, his four-seam and sinker were hit extremely hard while his changeup was the toughest pitch to hit off him by far. D-backs hitters will have to be careful with it.

Starting Lineups

Both teams have a getaway day lineup going, filled with backups and players taking days off. Notably absent for the D-backs is Ketel Marte who is getting a scheduled day off presumably. For the Yankees, Judge is at DH with Paul Goldschmidt and Austin Wells getting time off.

Kelly will have to navigate Cody Bellinger who has two home runs off of him and a .944 OPS in just 26 at-bats. Judge is 1-for-4 with a home run as well. However, Jazz Chisholm Jr. is 0-6 and Anthony Volpe is 0-5. Trent Grisham has a .174 average in 23 at-bats.

The D-backs will look to keep the Yankees top contingent quiet once again, which is a tall task to do three games in a row. Over the first two games, D-backs pitchers have limited Judge, Bellinger, Chisholm, and Volpe to just five hits in 31 at-bats. That includes 16 strikeouts.

As for the D-backs, Alek Thomas is back in center field and has the chance to continue to prove that he should be the everyday centerfielder with his prolific start thus far into the season.

It's a lefty-heavy lineup against the right-handed Carrasco with six left-handed hitting hitters. Garrett Hampson fills in for Marte while Jose Herrera gives Gabriel Moreno a breather. Pavin Smith gets his first start in the field at first base with Josh Naylor working at DH and giving him a chance to get off his legs.

Overall, this lineup has the ability to do damage from the left-handed side. Naylor has a home run off him, as does Eugenio Suarez. Corbin Carroll has a hit in four at-bats.