Diamondbacks swept by Rays, Merrill Kelly regresses with tough part of schedule nearing
The Diamondbacks only managed four total runs in a three-game sweep to the Rays, as they near a gauntlet of upcoming opponents.
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Chances once again came and went for the Arizona Diamondbacks’ offense on Sunday, as they lost 5-1 for a three-game sweep at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Arizona only mustered five hits, and though it didn’t create virtually any scoring opportunities from the fifth inning onward, the D-backs had plenty of runners aboard across the first four frames.
The Diamondbacks (41-42) went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position during this period, as Nolan Arenado (batting seventh) struck out twice during these situations. The D-backs closed the game 0-for-6 in RISP.
A Ketel Marte solo home run in the top of the eighth was the only run for Arizona, as he accomplished the same feat in the same frame on Saturday.
Arizona now gears up for a series against the San Francisco Giants (34-48) before running through a National League gauntlet of the Milwaukee Brewers (50-30), San Diego Padres (43-38) and Los Angeles Dodgers (53-30).
Merrill Kelly can’t follow up solid outing vs. Cardinals
D-backs mainstay Merrill Kelly got off to an eerily similar start on Sunday against the Rays to his last outing against the St. Louis Cardinals.
He surrendered three earned runs in the first three innings, just like on Monday, including him inducing a much-needed double play to limit the damage to one Rays run in the first.
Kelly seemed to be settling in with eight straight batters retired, but solo shots by Junior Caminero and Ben Williamson in the fifth and sixth innings spoiled any chance of a quality start.
The veteran right-hander closed with six innings pitched, five earned runs on eight hits, three strikeouts and two walks. He threw 93 pitches.
Arizona has now lost each of Kelly’s last six starts, in which he has allowed 25 earned runs.
Where are D-backs in NL Wild Card standings?
Entering Sunday, Arizona trailed the Padres (43-38) and Miami Marlins (44-39) by 2.5 games for the third and final NL Wild Card spot.
NL Wild Card standings
- Philadelphia Phillies (46-37) +2.0
- Chicago Cubs (45-38) +1.0
- San Diego Padres (43-38) —
- Miami Marlins (44-39) —
- St. Louis Cardinals (42-38) 0.5
- Washington Nationals (42-42) 2.5
- Arizona Diamondbacks (41-41) 2.5
- Pittsburgh Pirates (41-42) 3
Monday probables for Diamondbacks-Giants opener
Eduardo Rodriguez (2.27 ERA) gets the ball for Arizona on Monday coming off a win against the Cardinals, in which he pitched 6.2 scoreless innings. He will match up with San Francisco’s Tyler Mahle (5.49 ERA), who has allowed six and three earned runs in two appearances against the D-backs this season.
Listen to D-backs-Giants at 6:40 p.m. on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.
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Comments
20 Comments
It is simple, when the bats are cold, the pitchers can't give up runs in order to keep the Dbacks in the game. Giving up 3 to 5 runs in the first few innings is going to put the Dbacks behind the 8 ball.
Kelly had a GAME ERA of 4.5 against the Cardinals...which is below average. The median runs scored by the winning team in the MLB this season is 5...in other words, Kelly nearly gave the Cardinals the runs to win the game.
Kelly gave up 5 runs in 6 innings for a GAME ERA of 7.50. We have a reporter who thinks that having a GAME ERA of 4.5 is a solid outing. We have a manager that think that Kelly's 7.50 GAME ERA is okay. If a manager thinks that a 7.50 GAME ERA is okay than we need to replace this manager.
It was either TL or one of the Dbacks TV announcers or both who said that Pavin "He Can Hit" Smith bats exceptional well in Florida...this statement was made in the Marlins series.
Here are his stats:
0-7 against the Marlins (played two games)
1-8 against the Rays (played two games)
In other words, Smith batted 1 for 15 for a .067 batting average.
He might be an OK dude maybe but as a coach and a leader he sucks.
I posted this 2 months ago... "If u dropped into a coma and woke up 3 months from now, the Dbacks will be still be hovering around 500. This is why Lovello is paid the big bucks, to guarantee mediocrity." I'm no Nostradamus, but Lovello makes it easy to play the part.