Merrill Kelly's Start vs Cubs Wasn't As Bad As it Looked

Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly is still searching for his first quality start of the 2026 season. Six more earned runs in 4.1 innings in an 8-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs Sunday afternoon certainly did not help his season numbers.

But for as poor as his line looked, and the 9.95 ERA he now possesses, Sunday's start was more of an encouragement than many might think.

Kelly was still not his sharpest self in his fourth start back from the injured list, but his command was notably improved. Unfortunately, some poor batted-ball luck and an ill-timed mistake pitch turned what was trending toward a lengthy, effective outing into another ugly result.

"Early and late, I think there was a tale of two outings," manager Torey Lovullo said of Kelly's performance, speaking to D-backs.TV's Todd Walsh.

"But early on, I thought he was good. ... innings one through four, I thought he was efficient in doing his job. But outside of that, I think he got a little fatigued maybe."

D-backs' Merrill Kelly sharper vs Cubs despite bad result

Apr 28, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly (29) delivers a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers in the first inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

Kelly threw a scoreless first inning Sunday on just eight pitches, erasing a one-out single with a perfect double play ball.

He then punched out two batters to open the second inning, and induced a shallow popup to center field that should have resulted in an out. It did not, as Jorge Barrosa just missed an admittedly-tough catch out of the windy Chicago sky. It was, however, a play that arguably should have been made.

An ensuing ground ball just beyond the reach of Ketel Marte at second base placed a tough-luck run on Kelly's line, but the right-hander held the damage there with a strikeout of Dansby Swanson.

"We made a defensive miscue that led to their first run," Lovullo said. "And look, I know the wind is the wind. We've talked about it already. We've gone over it, and we made another mistake, and it led to a run."

The bottom of the third provided more poor luck. Kelly was hurt by another ground ball that became an unfortunate infield single, before serving a home run ball to Moises Ballesteros.

It was an ill-placed high fastball, but with gusts of nearly 20 MPH pushing balls out to center field, what might have been a flyout in different circumstances put Chicago ahead.

Regardless, a solo home run in that situation would have hurt less, especially if his second-inning popup had been caught to keep the Cubs off the board.

Kelly rebounded again, however. He threw a 1-2-3 fourth inning on just five pitches, and looked to be in good shape for a five-plus inning performance.

But after two walks and yet another infield ground ball resulting in no outs, Kelly threw his worst pitch of the game at an inopportune moment. Michael Busch hammered a center-cut fastball for a bases-clearing triple, and that would be the end of Kelly's day.

"I think the fifth inning got a little wobbly for him. He started to miss some locations," Lovullo said.

Overall, Kelly picked up 15 whiffs and 12 called strikes. He struck out five batters, and was landing his pitches for strikes around the edges of the zone. He threw 58 of his 92 pitches for strikes — a 63% strike rate that was by far his best in a start this season.

The main concern was how quickly that command evaporated, though if he had not been bitten for so many tough-luck hits, he may have had enough stamina to push his decline back an inning or two.

Certainly, Kelly's ineffectiveness this season has been a concern, and his numbers look no better. But if a few more balls went his way Sunday, the outlook might have been different.

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