Merrill Kelly Struggles Through Rough Chase Field Outing

Merrill Kelly looked like a pitcher still working his way back from an injury in the Diamondbacks exhibition matchup with Cleveland Guardians Monday night. The Guardians won the game 7-0.

Kelly faced 12 batters and recorded six outs. He gave up back-to-back homers in the first inning to Chase DeLauter and Jose Ramirez. He was able to strand a one-out single in the second inning.

But in the third inning he walked the first two batters faced and then gave up a sharp single to right to Ramirez. All three runs scored, and his final line was 2 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HR. The only good part of his pitching line was he got up to 52 pitches after throwing 36 in his last outing.

Merrill Kelly Struggles for Diamondbacks

Kelly's four-seam velocity in the first inning was 92.9 MPH in the first inning and 92.2 on the cutter. But by the third inning he was down to 90.9 and 89.8. While velocity is not Kelly's game, it was a notable drop.

Despite that, Kelly was not concerned at all with these results. For him, the most important thing was coming through the outing without any back or arm issues, and getting his pitch count up.

"Body feels good, that's what really matters," said Kelly. "Timing and, mechanically-wise, I'm still building up, so there's definitely still some work to do there. But what's most important, obviously, is that my arm feels good, my back feels good, so I'm moving in the right direction."

Sidelined for a couple of weeks with an intercostal nerve issue in his back, Kelly is slated to begin the season on the 15-day injured list.

His next outing will be on a backfield at Salt River Fields on Saturday, March 28, with the goal of getting to a fourth inning. Then he'll have a rehab start with the Triple-A Reno Aces on April 3 in Albuquerque against the Isotopes.

That would put him in line to be eligible to come off the IL by April 8, or sometime during the Mets series. Kelly wasn't sure exactly when the team would like to slot him in, however.

Flat Night at the Plate

The Diamondbacks ran out what looks to be their entire opening day starting lineup, but were unable to touch Slade Cecconi and the Guardians' bullpen. They were shut out on just two hits, both by Pavin Smith.

Torey Lovullo seemed relieved just to get the game over with and not have anyone get hurt.

"At this point in the spring, I think the guys are looking forward to this season. I don't think we should really ever overlook any game. I don't think that was the case today. It was nice getting in our uniforms, playing in our home ballpark, and get one day closer to the start of the season.

"So all's well that ends well. We'll come out here tomorrow, play another game, and then get on our way to LA. But just was glad to see the guys get through the game healthy," Lovullo said.

The final exhibition game is Tuesday, with a 12:40 p.m. first pitch. Michael Soroka starts for the D-backs and Parker Messick goes for the Guardians. Wednesday is an off day, and the season begins on Thursday in Los Angeles.