Merrill Kelly, D-backs take care of Rockies in series opener

The Arizona Diamondbacks blew out the Colorado Rockies 9-1 at Coors Field on Friday evening behind six innings of one-run ball by Merrill Kelly.

The D-backs (15-12) ran away with the game by scoring eight runs in the final three frames, including a five-spot in the ninth inning.

Kelly bounced back from a five-walk outing last weekend against the San Diego Padres with one walk on Friday along with five strikeouts. The veteran produced 13 swings and misses, four with the slider.

Merrill Kelly, Dirty 87mph Changeup…and Sword. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/gc7aulyf1j

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 29, 2023

He still faced holes to dig out of, as Colorado (8-19) had runners reach scoring position in each of the first three innings. But Kelly settled in by retiring nine straight batters in innings 4-6.

Friday was Kelly’s third start this year of at least six innings out of six appearances, and he threw 94 pitches.

“I felt like I missed more spots than I hit,” Kelly said. “I’m happy I was able to throw some strikes today.”

Kelly exited with a 4-1 lead, and the bullpen — Scott McGough, Miguel Castro and Joe Mantiply — did not allow a run.

For much of the game, a Ketel Marte solo home run was all Arizona had on the scoreboard, but the D-backs produced three runs with only one hit in the seventh.

Christian Walker doubled in Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Corbin Carroll walked. Josh Rojas hit a sharp grounder to third, but an error on the potential double play led to a run and Carroll reaching third. He scored on a Gabriel Moreno sacrifice fly.

“Just had some quality at bats at the right time,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “The right guys stepped up in the right situation over and drove big runs and ran the bases well. We played good defense, got some outstanding starting pitching, so there’s no mystery; when we do that we’re going to win some baseball games.”

Arizona started the ninth with three straight hits, including a two-run double by Rojas.

The ball bounded off the top of the wall twice, and Carroll nearly beat Geraldo Perdomo home despite started a base behind.

you might have a 90-foot headstart on corbin carroll but it might not be enoughpic.twitter.com/wHqUkbX1Dk

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 29, 2023

“I thought he eventually would have caught up to him,” Lovullo said. “He’s one of the fastest human beings I’ve ever been around.”

The win was Arizona’s third in four games.

Up next

The D-backs play for a series win on Saturday at 5:10 p.m. with Tommy Henry facing RHP Noah Davis.

Catch the game on ESPN 620 AM / 98.7 FM HD-2.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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