{"id":20472,"date":"2019-06-03T06:14:46","date_gmt":"2019-06-03T10:14:46","guid":{"rendered":"lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/\/?p=20472"},"modified":"2019-06-03T06:14:46","modified_gmt":"2019-06-03T10:14:46","slug":"merrill-kelly-arizona-diamondbacks-ks-10-vs-mets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2019\/06\/03\/merrill-kelly-arizona-diamondbacks-ks-10-vs-mets\/","title":{"rendered":"Merrill Kelly Strikes Out 10 vs New York Mets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Merrill Kelly<\/a><\/strong> was on the mound against the Mets Steven Matz<\/a><\/strong> in the \u201crubber\u201d game on Sunday. With an announced crowd of 26,945 on \u201ckids\u201d day, which is every Sunday, and also bark in the park with an estimated 80 dogs in attendance. The Phoenix temperature was 95 degrees, but it was a very comfortable 74 degrees inside the park with the roof closed.<\/p>\n

Merrill Kelly Fans 10<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Diamondback Bats Start Hot<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Ketel Marte<\/a> led off the bottom of the first with a long home run, the first leadoff home run in his career. The 482-foot shot tied the Rangers\u2019 Nomar Mazara<\/a><\/strong> for the longest homer hit this season. Second up was Tim Locastro<\/a><\/strong> who singled. Then Eduardo Escobar<\/a><\/strong> homered to left-field and the Diamondbacks were up by three quickly.<\/p>\n

Run Support Helped Kelly<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Kelly, the former Arizona State Sun Devil, was able to get out of the first with no runs given up and the early run support really boosted his performance. Having a three-run cushion eased the pressure. Over 7 2\/3 innings, he gave up only six hits and struck out a career-best 10. The lone Mets run came on a homer by Wilson Ramos<\/a><\/strong> in the second. The Diamondbacks then gave themselves additional breathing room with a pair of runs in the fifth thanks to four consecutive two-out singles. They added two more runs in the eighth. The final score was 7 to 1.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s Forget May<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Mired in a nearly month-long slump, the Diamondbacks had been lackluster. They had the five-game losing streak, including a loss to the Mets on Friday, and were looking at a potential six-game slide after falling behind the Mets on Saturday night. To their credit, they rallied to win in extra innings. That win and taking the series with today\u2019s win is just the boost of confidence this team needs with the Dodgers coming to town Monday. Let\u2019s hope this points the team back in the winning direction.<\/p>\n

Manager Tory Lovullo\u2019s Take<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cIn the fifth inning yesterday, I was under the bench sucking my thumb. I didn\u2019t know what to do,\u201d said Manager Tory Lovullo in the press-room. \u201cI was like, \u2018Where are we going? What are we doing? We\u2019re not playing our type of baseball.\u2019 It was really frustrating.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the team\u2019s never-give-up attitude impressed him. \u201cIt\u2019s a perfect example of not shutting down and I\u2019m proud of these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supple, Not Supple<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When asked about Ketel Marte\u2019s power numbers from the right side, Lovullo talked to the media in the press-room about the switch hitter\u2019s swing \u201csuppleness\u201d from that side of the plate. After a few seconds, though, he changed his mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cActually, let\u2019s strike that from the record,\u201d Lovullo said, drawing laughs. \u201cThat\u2019s not a baseball term, I get it. There\u2019s about 15 words\u2026 the F-word, the S-word, Atta-boy. That\u2019s all we know, so let\u2019s shut that word down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Up Next<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Monday is the start of a three-game series against the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers. LHP Robbie Ray<\/a><\/strong> starts off the series. Currently, Ray is 4-2 with a 3.59 ERA and 82 strikeouts.<\/p>\n

Main photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>