Record 69-63. Pace: 85-77. Change on 2025: +5.
Well, in the broader scheme of things, that probably went about as well as could be expected. It was a Merrill Kelly start, after all. He hasn’t picked up a W in more than a month, his last win coming back on July 22. As mentioned in the GDT tonight, August has been a cruel month for Kelly. Tonight, to be fair, wasn’t so bad. He came within one out of a quality start, something we haven’t seen from Merrill in eight attempts now, since before the All-Star break. While the Arizona bullpen certainly
didn’t help matters, this one was more on the offense. Here’s some insightful baseball analysis for you. You won’t win many games when you fail to score any runs. You’re welcome!
After a quick first inning on both sides, it look like Merrill Kelly’s night was set up to be a short one. A one-out walk was followed by a two-out triple, as Corbin Carroll couldn’t corral the ball in the right field corner. Kelly then lost control of his change-up entirely, walking the Cubs #8 and #9 hitters, to load the bases in front of presumptive 2026 NL MVP, Pete Crow-Armstrong. Cue thoughts of, “It’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for ’em”. Fortunately, it did, though only just, as PCA sent it 388 feet to die in the center field glove of Ryan Waldschmidt. An elevated pitch count for Merrill and a 1-0 deficit were by no means a disaster.
Indeed, Kelly settled down surprisingly well after that, rediscovering the feel for his off-speed pitches. He set down the Cubs in order in the third with a pair of strikeouts, then had another 1-2-3 frame in the 4th, including another K. He did allow another run in the 5th on a pair of doubles, as the Cubs took a 2-0 lead, but it was a solid enough outing. The most interesting thing though, was likely a spat between Kelly and the third-base coach for the Cubs, Quintin Berry. At one point, he stepped off the mound, stared pointedly at Berry, and then the occupants of the D-backs and Cubs dugouts started jawing at each other. The exact specifics of the discussion will have to await the Jomboy breakdown.
However, the broadcast team speculated that Berry’s positioning might have allowed him to look into Merrill’s glove and relay information to the batter, if there was a runner on second. It was notable that, after Kelly was lifted from the game, he remained in the dugout, unusual behavior for a starting pitcher. In particular, he remained right on the top step of the dugout, at the end nearest Berry, and Kelly appeared to be trying to trigger a Scanners-like explosion of Berry’s head, through the sheer force of his stare. Kelly’s final line? 5.2 innings, three runs allowed on five hits and three walks, with four strikeouts. It’s his fifth consecutive outing with at least three walks. Nobody has gone longer for Arizona since Robbie Ray went seven straight in 2018-19.
The Cubs did get the last laugh, however. After Merrill’s exit with two outs in the sixth, Taylor Clarke came in and allowed back-to-back home-runs, the first a two-run shot due to the runner he inherited. In five pitches, the deficit had gone from a still potentially surmountable two runs, to five. We did get to see Drey Jameson’s first outing since he came back off the injured list. But it didn’t go so well, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk over two innings. Juan Burgos pitched a scoreless ninth. He was called up today with Mitch Bratt being optioned down. Though I suspect Bratt may well end up being the 27th man for the double-header vs the Giants on Saturday.
About the sole fragment of good news is that Pete Crow-Armstrong went 0-for-5 today. It’s only the third game this year, where he has had 5+ at-bats and not reached base. However, following on from Sunday’s mauling of the Mariners, the Cubs have now scored twenty-six runs since their opponents last crossed home-plate. If I heard the booth right, that’s the most unanswered runs in a row since 1969. Though, let’s be honest, my attention may not have been a hundred percent focused on the game by that point. Those apple turnovers weren’t going to eat themselves, after all.
The Arizona offense barely showed up, which is why it has not merited a single word of description. There were only five hits, all singles, and one walk. The latter saw Tim Tawa eventually get picked off-base with spectacular ease, after wandering further and further off-base. The D-backs mustered only two at-bats with a runner in scoring position, and one of those was with two outs in the ninth. The other came courtesy of Corbin Carroll, who stole bases #19 and #20 on the season in the fourth. It’s the 31st 20-SB season in franchise history, and Carroll’s fourth such. That ties him with Tony Womack for the franchise record. I’ve a feeling Corbin will have sole possession by the end of 2027. Or whenever the next full season might be.
Click for details at Fangraphs
The Bear Necessities: Corbin Carroll, +16%
Un-bear-able: Geraldo Perdomo, -21%
Bare-ly adequate: Taylor Clarke, -18%
Understandably, not exactly an enthusiastic Gameday Thread. Just one comment turned Sedona Red, an acknowledgement of an athletic play with the glove by Drey Jameson from AzDesertLovr:
The good news is, the Phillies’ nine-game winning streak came to an abrupt end, the Big Dumper homering three times as the Mariners beat them 9-2. The Pirates and Padres are still playing in San Diego, and at least Pittsburgh are putting up a fight, this one being tied at two in the ninth inning. Let’s go, Bucs! Here in Arizona, we’ll hope for better tomorrow, in the second game of the series against the Cubs. We’ll be sending up Brandon Pfaadt, and hoping that last time’s blow-up in Boston was just an aberration. First pitch is 6:40 pm, Arizona time.
