Diamondbacks snap skid, back Kelly with 3 homers in win vs. Reds

CINCINNATI — Merrill Kelly allowed one hit over six innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks hit three homers to beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-0 on Wednesday night, snapping a four-game skid.

Christian Walker hit a two-run homer and Josh Rojas and Jordan Luplow added solo shots for the Diamondbacks, who stopped a 26-inning scoreless streak with a five-run eighth inning in Tuesday’s 14-8 loss to the Reds.

The game’s first pitch was delayed 1 hour, 40 minutes by rain.

One night after launching five home runs and piling up 16 hits, Cincinnati managed just a double and four singles against Kelly (5-3) and three relievers. Kelly walked three and struck out five while lasting longer than five innings for the first time in his last six starts.

Kelly got a boost from Alek Thomas, who leaped at the left-center field fence and robbed Joey Votto of a two-run homer to end the first inning. Cincinnati had scored in the first inning in the previous six games.

Thomas also robbed Votto of a hit with a diving catch of a sinking liner in the fourth.

Walker snapped a scoreless tie in the fourth inning with his 15th homer, a rocket 10 rows deep into the left field seats with Ketel Marte on base. The lead was Arizona’s first since the ninth inning of an eventual 2-1 loss at Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Rojas’s knocked Mike Minor out of his second start of the season with a one-out solo homer in the fifth. Minor (0-2), who spent the first two months of the season on the Injured List with a left shoulder strain that developed in spring training, allowed three hits and three runs with three walks and four strikeouts.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Diamondbacks: RHP Luke Weaver (right elbow inflammation) threw 60 pitches over four innings in rehab start for Triple-A Reno on Tuesday. He’ll throw a bullpen session on Friday, manager Torey Lovullo said. … C Carson Kelly (left oblique strain) caught seven innings and hit a home run in the same game. He was expected to DH on Wednesday, Lovullo said. … SS Nick Ahmed (right shoulder inflammation) was shifted to the 60-day Injured List on Wednesday.

Reds: CF Nick Senzel was scratched from the starting lineup with a lower back strain. … 2B Jonathan India (right hamstring strain), the 2021 National League Rookie of the Year, went 1-for-4 with two runs batted in on Tuesday in the first game of his rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville. … IF Donovan Solano (left hamstring strain) went 1-for-3 while playing third base in the same game. Both players had scheduled days off on Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Diamondbacks: RHP Zach Davies (2-3) threw 7 2-3 shutout innings in his last start on Saturday at Pittsburgh.

Reds: RHP Tyler Mahle (2-5) left his last start on Saturday against the Nationals in the seventh inning with a 7-3 lead but was victimized by a blown save for the third time in 12 starts this season.