Merrill Kelly mows down Padres as D-backs end their losing streak

Merrill Kelly picked up a quality start for the Arizona Diamondbacks as they ended the first half of the season on a high note, beating the San Diego Padres 3-1.

The win snaps a four-game losing streak as the team heads to the All-Star break.

Kelly threw six innings without allowing a walk. He gave up six hits and one earned run on 97 pitches while picking up five strikeouts. He improved his record to 9-5 on the season.

At the All Star break, Kelly leads the team in innings pitched, wins, quality starts and is tied with Madison Bumgarner in games started.

All of the scoring action began in the sixth inning with a two-out, solo home run by David Peralta off Padres starter Mike Clevinger to get the D-backs on the board first.

Arizona would follow it up with an active seventh that saw five batters reach base as they were able to take advantage of the Padres bullpen. They would plate two more runs in the inning to provide a 3-0 cushion for Kelly.

San Diego got its first run of the game on a home run by Luke Voit, who led off the seventh.

That solo shot chased Kelly out of the game as he turned the ball over to Arizona’s lone All-Star representative in Joe Mantiply who shut down the rest of Padres in order, picking up one strikeout.

Caleb Smith and Mark Melancon also tossed shutout innings in the eighth and ninth innings to close the door on the Padres for good.

Clevinger finished with six innings pitched, four hits, one earned run, two walks and eight strikeouts for the Padres.

UP NEXT

The D-backs will send Mantiply to Los Angeles for the All-Star Game scheduled for Monday. The team resumes the regular season on Friday with a six-game homestand beginning against the Washington Nationals and ending against the San Francisco Giants.

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