Kelly continues career-best stretch vs. Rox

August 7th, 2022

PHOENIX -- The D-backs let one get away on Saturday night as the Rockies rallied and scored a run in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to secure a 3-2 win at Chase Field.

Here are three things to know about the game:

1. Merrill Kelly was good (again)

Kelly came into the game having recently been named NL Pitcher of the Month for July and riding a 15-inning scoreless streak.

While Kelly lost that streak in the seventh when Randal Grichuk singled home C.J. Cron with one out, Kelly once again pitched well enough to win, allowing two runs over seven-plus innings with five strikeouts.

"Kelly's been really good -- I mean, 10-5 with a nice ERA, and especially the last couple months," Rockies manager Bud Black said. " You can see it. It's the sinker, it's the cutter, it's both sides of the plate. It's changeup down, it's bottom of the zone, it's at the hands. There's a lot to cover with him, and it's hard. It's hard. His performance over the last 10 starts has been exceptional."

Kelly went 4-0 with a 1.31 ERA and a 0.77 WHIP over six starts in July and he was asked if this stretch is the best of his career.

"I'd probably have to look back over my career, but in the big leagues, [it is] for sure," Kelly said. "I don't think it's even close."

2. Seth Beer got a bad read in the fifth

Leading by a run in the fifth, the D-backs had runners at second and third with one out when Josh Rojas hit a sinking liner to right field.

Beer, who was on third, initially thought the ball was going to drop and strayed a bit off the base, so when Charlie Blackmon made a sliding catch, Beer had to backtrack to tag third before trying to score. Because of that, Blackmon was able to slide, pop up, and spin to throw Beer out at the plate for an inning-ending double play.

"It's 100 percent my fault," Beer said. "I got stuck in-between. I just read it wrong off the bat. It's a mental mistake and I take full responsibility for it. I'll learn from it and it won't happen again."

Said Black: "That was a momentum-changer. Great catch by Chuck and the awareness to pop up and make a strong throw. That's a tough play for a runner at third. The infield's in, you're going on contact, the hitter swings, your initial move is to the plate. He had to fight to get back, a little bit of a late tag, which helped us. But Chuck made a play and made a strong throw."

3. Ian Kennedy thought it was a good pitch

With Mark Melancon being removed from the closer's role for the time being by manager Torey Lovullo, Kennedy was able to lock down Friday night's win and was brought into a tie game in the ninth on Saturday.

With one out and in a 1-2 count, Kennedy threw a 95 mph fastball up and on the outside part of the plate to Ryan McMahon, who was able to get to the pitch and drive it over the wall in left-center field for what proved to be the game-winner.

"I thought that was a good pitch and I was surprised that he got to it," Kennedy said. "Just frustrating, because it was a good back-and-forth game and you try to keep it that way. Then I get ahead of him, try to put them away with an up-and-away fastball. ... I'll have to look, but I thought I got it to the right spot."