Kelly K’s 7, battles in first 'tough' start

There are those days when a starting pitcher takes the mound feeling sharp with his best stuff at the ready. Then there are the times when he takes the mound and everything just feels like a Monday morning slog.

The latter was what Wednesday night’s start against the A’s felt like for Merrill Kelly, as the right-hander battled through five innings in the D-backs' 4-1 loss at the Oakland Coliseum. Kelly did manage to strike out seven for the third time this year, and against a tough A’s lineup.

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The defeat snapped Arizona’s six-game win streak, and it ended Kelly’s run of really impressive starts to open the season.

“It was just a tough one,” Kelly said. “You’re going to have to grind through some days. I looked up and saw I had 50 pitches after two innings, and my goal after that was to get through as many innings as I could and try to keep us in the game. It was just a grinder. I was glad to get through five.”

A key for Kelly in his first four starts of the season, during which he went 3-1 with a 1.71 ERA, was that he was constantly on the attack and did not nibble at the strike zone with his pitches. That was how he wanted to be again Wednesday, but his stuff didn’t cooperate.

He walked and hit a batter during a two-run Oakland first inning.

“I guess just kind of a strange day,” Kelly said. “Just the way I felt. I felt like the ball was still coming out good. I feel like my misses weren't too big, I feel like I was just kind of missing on some stuff. But I’ve got to do a better job of recognizing when I'm missing like that and make the adjustments and to get it back over the plate.”

In the third, Kelly allowed a two-run homer to Mark Canha on a pitch he’d like to have back.

“I missed with that pitch to Canha and he took advantage of it,” Kelly said.

And that’s the tough thing about facing the A’s lineup. They work deep counts and try to wear a starting pitcher down. Kelly threw 26 pitches in the first inning, 21 in the second and 22 in the third.

“Tonight, I think they recognized that I wasn't as sharp as I have been, and I think they made that adjustment,” Kelly said. “I think they were going to make me throw strikes. They took some good pitches that I think their plan was to take. And they swung at the ones they wanted to hit. That’s a good team over there, and they can wear you down.”

Last season was Kelly’s first full year in the big leagues after spending the previous four pitching in Korea. There was plenty that he learned, and that was evident by how much he improved as the year went on, pitching his best as the season wound to a close. Wednesday provided another opportunity to make some notes about pitching without his best stuff.

“Just the overall feeling I had today I just wasn't as sharp -- mentally, physically -- as I have been in the past,” Kelly said. “You know you're just going to have those days throughout the season. You're just not going to feel on point every single day. And that was just kind of one of those days today.”

After Canha's homer in the third, Kelly retired nine of his final 10 before turning it over to the bullpen to begin the sixth.

“I complimented him on getting through five,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “It was a grind early, and then he kind of settled in. Three of the five innings were scoreless innings. The last two, I thought he threw the ball well and made some quality two-strike pitches. The bottom line is, I think he recovered well enough, and that’s what good pitchers do.”

Even on days when they’re not at their best.