Merrill Kelly throws 1st career complete game, Diamondbacks dominate Rockies

The Diamondbacks attacked Colorado Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeland with six runs in the first inning on Friday, and Arizona starter Merrill Kelly threw his first career complete game in a 9-1 win.

Kelly became the first Diamondbacks pitcher with a nine-inning, complete game since Zac Gallen in 2023, and he did so with 100 pitches on the dot.

The veteran had thrown eight innings five times throughout his career entering Friday, including 8.2 frames during a game in 2022.

Kelly needed eight or fewer pitches to get through four of the first eight innings of the ballgame, entering the ninth inning with 82 pitches thrown. He struck out T.J. Rumfield to complete the accomplishment.

Merrill Kelly finishes his first career complete game with a strikeout!

(MLB x @Abbvie) pic.twitter.com/zWNSb0KZpC

— MLB (@MLB) May 16, 2026

The 37-year-old only struck out three batters all game, but he did not walk a batter and allowed only four hits. The lone run came in the first inning on a solo home run from catcher Hunter Goodman.

The right-hander did not throw many four-seam fastballs, carving up the Rockies’ lineup with more cutters, changeups and sliders.

Five days after getting booed by the fans at Chase Field for taking out Eduardo Rodriguez two outs short of a complete game, manager Torey Lovullo left his starter on the bump to finish the job.

“I was going to start to get a little edgy around pitch 95,” Lovullo told reporters in Colorado. “But he did a good job.”

Kelly has allowed two earned runs over 16 innings in his last two starts, looking more like himself after he struggled to get going coming off the injured list.

He became the oldest pitcher to throw a complete game since Adam Wainwright in 2022, according to MLB researcher Sarah Langs. The last Diamondbacks pitcher to throw a complete game at an older age was Randy Johnson.

Kelly also has a great track record against the Rockies and at Coors Field.

Pitching in the notoriously hitter-friendly environment, Kelly has worked a 1.96 ERA in his last seven starts in Colorado. He is the only visitor in Coors Field history with seven straight quality starts. Against the Rockies in general, he owns a 1.83 ERA over his last 14 starts dating back to 2021. The team is 11-3 in those games.

The last Diamondbacks pitcher with a complete game at Coors Field was Patrick Corbin in 2013.

Merrill Kelly on what it means after all these years and how Nolan Arenado put it into perspective pic.twitter.com/vrAXQu7dSg

— Jody Jackson (@Jody_Jackson) May 16, 2026

Diamondbacks dominate 1st inning

The sky seemed to cave in on Freeland with two outs in the first inning.

He retired Ketel Marte and Geraldo Perdomo with a broken-bat single from Corbin Carroll. Carroll may have saved the entire inning by running on the play when Perdomo grounded out, and he was initially called out stealing third base during the following at-bat, but the D-backs successfully challenged.

From there:
– Nolan Arenado walk
– Ildemaro Vargas RBI single that nearly took Freeland’s head off
– Lourdes Gurriel Jr. eight-pitch walk
– Gabriel Moreno two-run single
– Jose Fernandez RBI hustle double
– Ryan Waldschmidt RBI single and stolen base

Freeland threw 42 pitches in the inning, 33 with two outs. Marte accounted for two of the three outs.

Arizona tacked on with noteworthy nights at the plate for Arenado, Vargas and Moreno.

Arenado walked four times, setting a career high, and doubled. He has reached base safely in 19 of his last 20 starts, and when looking at the past 30 days, Arenado is third in the National League with a 1.038 OPS.

Vargas went 4-for-5, his second four-hit performance of the season. After his 27-game hitting streak ended, Vargas hit .139 over the ensuing nine games, understandable regression after such a hot start. But the switch-hitter has heated back up with seven hits over his last three games and two RBIs in each contest.

Moreno snapped an 0-for-17 stretch on Wednesday with two hits, and he kept that rolling with two more knocks and three RBIs on Friday.

The Diamondbacks’ offense went 7-for-13 with runners in scoring position after the group went 3-for-15 on Wednesday against the Texas Rangers.

Eight of the nine starters in the lineup recorded at least one hit, with Marte the outlier at 0-for-5.

Coors Field complete games

The last five nine-inning complete games at Coors Field:

• Merrill Kelly, 2026
• Stephen Kolek, 2025
• Lance Lynn, 2020
• Jameson Taillon, 2018
• Clayton Kershaw, 2013

Diamondbacks pitchers to throw a nine-inning complete game in Colorado:

• Merrill Kelly, 2026
• Patrick Corbin, 2013
• Armando Reynoso, 2000
• Omar Daal, 1999

Day baseball all weekend

The Diamondbacks improved to 21-22 with the win, while the Rockies fell to 17-28, the worst record in the National League.

The series continues with 12:10 p.m. MST start times on both Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday, Rodriguez (4-0, 2.25) will pitch for the Diamondbacks after his 8.1-inning outing last weekend. Right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano (3-3, 4.07) will go for Colorado.

The game will air on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app. 

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