Article author:
Reuters
Merrill Kelly is the National League Pitcher of the Month in July and is about to succeed in August when Arizona Diamondbacks hosts the Colorado Rockies in Phoenix on Saturday night.
Kelly started 6 times last month and went 4-0 with 1.31 ERA. He hit 33 in 41 1/3 innings, allowing only 24 hits and 8 walks.
The right-handed player gave up a total of six hits in 15 scoreless innings on the last two outings of the month. He made eight innings on July 25, beating the San Francisco Giants, and undecided seven innings against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.
Kelly, 33, said that being ahead of the count fueled a powerful moon.
"I think he has the ability to throw strikes," he said. "I'm proud to be a striker. I'm proud to be ahead of the guys. In doing so, my game plan works much better.
"I think I did a good job of attacking a man and trusting his own."
Kelly (10-5, 2.87 ERA) July 1st. He defeated the Rocky Mountains and gave up 2 runs (1 win) and 5 hits in 7 innings.
He is 2-0 with 1.15 ERA on two starts against Colorado and is part of his career record of 3-3 with 4.83 ERA on eight starts against Rocky. ..
Ryan McMahon (23-5) has two home runs against Kelly. Charlie Blackmon is 18-6, but Randal Grichuk (0-10) and Elias Diaz (1-11) are both struggling.
Arizona won 6-5 in the opening round of the three-game series on Friday. The Diamondbacks have only won their second victory in the last seven games.
The Rockies lead 5-2 after 6 innings, Joshua Rojas strokes a 2-run double in the 7th inning, and Geraldo Perdomo sends a 2-out go-ahead 2-run single to the bottom of the 8th inning. I did.
Colorado has dropped 13 of the last 17 games, and manager Bud Black was surprised by the bullpen's big meltdown.
"This was hard," Black said of the loss. "The last guys are pretty consistent, especially in the last few months, but this shows that not all players are invincible."
Right-handed Antonio Senza Terra (3) -6, 4.87) are on the mound of Colorado on Saturday. He has been 0-3 with 5.84 ERA in the last 5 starts.
Senzatela, 27, lost to San Diego Padres on Monday, giving up three runs and five hits in six innings.
Senzatela was sent off for three weeks with shoulder pain after losing to Kelly and Diamondbacks in the July 1st contest and giving up three runs and four hits in two innings.
Overall, he scored 6.07 ERA with 19 career appearances (15 starts) against the Rockies, 3-9. He was often frustrated by Christian Walker (11-22, 2 home runs, 4 doubles) and Ketel Marte (10-25).
Arizona's right-handed Ian Kennedy is the sixth opener just hours after Arizona's manager Tori Robro announces the demotion of right-handed Mark Melanson (3-10, 4.66). Recorded the save of.
Kennedy needed only eight balls in a perfect frame.
Melancon converted 14 of his 17 save chances, but blew away 10 saves and lost 11 with a 6-5 retreat to the Cleveland Guardians on Monday.
Lovullo said he would use a match-based committee approach with left-handed Joe Mantiply (two saves) from Melancon, Kennedy and All-Star regarding the save situation.
"I'm going back to another situation that isn't close at this point," Lovullo said. "When I talked to Mark about making this move, he understood. He didn't necessarily like it, but he knew it would benefit the team."
– Field-level media
