Diamondbacks Spring Training: March 23, 2022
Wednesday saw another Arizona Diamondbacks spring training workout in the morning. In the afternoon, the team headed to Scottsdale Stadium to take on the defending NL West champion San Francisco Giants. Merrill Kelly started pitching for the Diamondbacks against Giants righty Logan Webb.
Torey Lovullo Pre-game
Ketel Marte will play second base Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers. During Friday’s home game against the Los Angeles Angels, Luke Weaver will start pitching. There will also be a B–game against the Angels Friday.
Merrill Kelly
Merrill Kelly mowed through the Giants lineup like a buzzsaw, striking out eight in three perfect innings. Kelly said it was “probably the best I’ve felt all camp. I think the results speak for themselves on how I felt. The ball was coming out pretty good. Happy with it. I hope I can build on it the rest of camp.”
Kelly added, “I knew the ball was coming out really well. And I knew that if I located it, it was probably going to be a pretty good result.” His fastball was good and had some life on it, in his words. He was also “happy to see the changeup doing what it was doing. I really enjoy throwing a changeup. It’s a pitch I have always prided myself on. The last couple of years, it hasn’t been as good as it should be. I’m happy with what I see from it so far.”
In the offseason, Kelly worked on some mechanical tweaks to improve his changeup. He felt that he got too focused on “trying to be too fine with it, just because it wasn’t doing what I thought it should do.”
Torey Lovullo Post-game
When Kelly left the game, the Diamondbacks held a 1–0 lead. The lead expanded to 2–0 in the top of the fifth, but the Giants tied it in the bottom of the fifth. A throwing error by Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo put Giants designated hitter Wilmer Flores on first for catcher Joey Bart, whose two-run homer tied the game. Lovullo said, “After (the Giants) they tied the score, we didn’t let down and got that big RBI double by Davidson that brought us back. That’s the little things we keep talking about.”
Looking Ahead
Diamondbacks spring training continues Thursday, March 24. They will hold camp in the morning before a 1 pm away game against the Brewers in Maryvale. Taylor Widener will take the mound for the Diamondbacks against Brandon Woodruff in a matchup of right-handers.
Main Photo:
Players mentioned:
Merrill Kelly, Logan Webb, Torey Lovullo, Ketel Marte, Luke Weaver, Geraldo Perdomo, Wilmer Flores, Joey Bart, Taylor Widener, Brandon Woodruff
