Merrill Kelly ‘very likely’ to start Sunday, per Diamondbacks’ Lovullo

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly is “very likely” to make his first start since April on Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies, according to manager Torey Lovullo.

“He’s got to throw his bullpen today (at Chase Field),” Lovullo told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Friday. “I had a good conversation with him about a half-hour ago. He feels great, looks great. He’s up into that 75-80 pitch range. … we got to make it official here. We’ll get that word out as soon as possible once we determine how everything goes today.”

Kelly has been on the 60-day injured list with a shoulder strain but has stretched himself out.

He got in a Tuesday outing with Single-A Hillsboro that saw him throw 62 pitches (38 for strikes) and allow three earned runs and six hits over 4.0 innings.

The right-hander had a strong start to the year, giving Arizona three quality starts in four games before the injury.

Arizona remained afloat this year after losing Kelly early and fellow projected starter Eduardo Rodriguez to injuries before the season began. They’ve now gone 14-4 since the MLB All-Star break and got Rodriguez back for a start on Wednesday.

Kelly would join a fully healthy D-backs rotation of Rodriguez, Zac Gallen, Brandon Pfaadt and Jordan Montgomery.

The Diamondbacks have Ryne Nelson and Gallen lined up to start against Philadelphia on Friday and Saturday, respectively, before Kelly could jump back into the rotation opposite the Phillies’ Cristopher Sanchez on Sunday at Chase Field.

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