D-backs, Kelly Look to Set the Right Tone In Home Opener

The Diamondbacks will play their home opener against the Dodgers today. After securing series splits on the road against the Dodgers and Padres, Arizona is hoping to get off on the right foot at home.

Follow the Game

Television

ARI: Bally Sports Arizona, Steve Beriathume and Bob Brenly

LAD: SportsNet LA (Dodgers), Joe Davis and Orel Hershiser

Radio

ARI: 98.7 FM Phoenix Arizona's Sports Station, Greg Schulte and Tom Candiotti; KHOV Univision 105.1 FM (Spanish), Oscar Soria and Rodrigo Lopez

LAD: Dodgers Radio AM570, Charley Steiner and Rick Monday; KTNQ 1020 Pepe Yñiguez and Fernando Valenzuela

Starting Pitcher Matchup

This pitching matchup is a rematch of the second game of the season, which Arizona won 2-1. Right-hander Merrill Kelly threw 3.2 scoreless against the Dodgers, quickly hitting empty in the tank with back-to-back walks in the fourth inning. In 13 starts, Kelly is 0-9 with a 5.64 ERA against Los Angeles. Kelly is more of a throwback pitcher who aims to pitch-to-contact and uses late, subtle movement on his pitches to miss the sweet spot of the barrel. Kelly mixed in all five of his pitchers almost equally against the Dodgers, with no fewer than 12 pitches and no more than 18, relying more on his secondary pitches to get left-handed hitters out.

Dustin May kept the D-backs off the scoreboard for seven innings, limiting them to three hits and a walk while striking out four. Arizona had a tough time elevating against May, with 11 of the 20 balls in play being on the ground. His arsenal starts with an upper-90s 4-seamer and sinker, a mid-90s cutter, arguably the best right-handed curveball in the game, and a changeup. While not necessarily a big swing-and-miss pitcher, with a career strikeout rate of 23.6%, he is a tough pitcher to elevate with a 52.3% career ground ball rate according to Statcast.

Lineups

The D-backs are throwing out more or less the same lineup as last week against May, with Jake McCarthy and Gabriel Moreno switching spots in the order.

Corbin Carroll and Christian Walker are the only two D-backs players who have more than one hit against May in their careers. Carroll is 2-for-6 and Walker is 4-for-7. They hit back-to-back in the fourth and fifth spots in the lineup.

Five Dodgers, all of whom are in their projected starting lineup, have at least 18 career at-bats against Kelly. Here's how they've fared:

Mookie Betts: 7-for-24 (.292), 3 HR
Freddie Freeman: 6-for-18 (.333), 1 HR
Max Muncy: 12-for-28 (.429), 1 HR
Will D. Smith: 7-for 23 (.304), 1 HR
Chris Taylor: 7-for 26 (.269), 1 HR

Freeman and Betts were the only two players who were not in a Dodgers uniform when Merrill Kelly made his first career start against the Dodgers on July 3, 2019.