Kelly allowed three runs on six hits while striking out four over 2.2 innings in Monday's spring start against the Angels.
Kelly was tagged for all three runs in the second inning of his fourth Cactus League start. It was an efficient outing, as Kelly required 66 pitches to get those eight outs. He hinted to Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports that the high pitch count was partially due to a pitcher using spring contests to test out pitches he might not normally throw in certain situations during the regular season. Kelly worked on his slider Monday, throwing it 24 percent of the time. "I think that was one of the things I walked away with today, with how good it's been in spring," Kelly said. It's a pitch the right-hander hasn't used much during his career and only started introducing the last few seasons.
Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly: Scoreless spring outing
Rotowire
Kelly allowed five hits while striking out one over 3.1 scoreless innings in Tuesday's spring start against the Royals.
Kelly threw 48 pitches in his third Cactus League start, the same number of pitches he threw the last time out, March 7, against the Mariners. He navigated first-inning trouble with the help of his defense; a baserunner was caught attempting to steal and a second one was picked off by Kelly, the third time he's picked off a runner this spring. After three spring outings, Kelly has a 2.35 ERA over 7.2 innings.
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Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly: Gets in work Thursday
Rotowire
Kelly allowed two runs on four hits and two walks over 2.1 innings while striking out three in Thursday's split-squad start against the Mariners.
Kelly threw 48 pitches (30 strikes) in his second Cactus League outing. The right-hander allowed multiple baserunners in each of his first two innings and experienced a slight drop in velocity relative to his first spring outing, but his rotation spot isn't in jeopardy and Kelly's focus at this stage of the spring is on getting stretched out.
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Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly: Makes spring debut
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Kelly allowed one hit and one walk while striking out two over two innings in Friday's spring start against the Royals.
This was Kelly's first appearance in Cactus League action, and the 36-year-old right-hander showed extra juice on his fastball. He averaged 92 mph on his two- and four-seamers in 2024 but threw a number of fastballs at 94-plus Friday. The uptick in velo is an encouraging sign for Kelly, who missed a large part of 2024 due to a shoulder injury.
Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly: D-backs pick up option
Rotowire
The Diamondbacks exercised Kelly's $7 million club option for 2025 on Saturday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
After missing a four-month chunk of the season due to a shoulder injury, Kelly finished 2024 with a 4.03 ERA and 1.17 WHIP across 73.2 innings over 13 starts. Hopeful for a bounce-back campaign in 2025, the D-backs will keep the 36-year-old righty around to bolster a pitching staff that ranked 27th in the majors with a 4.62 ERA.
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Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly: Takes first loss
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Kelly (5-1) allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out eight over 5.2 innings Friday, taking the loss versus the Padres.
Kelly left his last start due to a right calf cramp, but it wasn't a lasting issue for the right-hander. He was shaky in the first inning Friday, allowing four of the five runs and four of the eight hits on his line as the Padres jumped ono him early. He also gave up an RBI triple to Luis Arraez in the fourth. Kelly wraps up an injury-plagued regular season with a 4.03 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 63:19 K:BB over 73.2 innings across 13 starts, missing nearly four months with a shoulder injury.
Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly: Dealing with calf cramp
Rotowire
Kelly was removed from Saturday's game against the Brewers due to a right calf cramp.
Kelly had thrown 72 pitches through five scoreless innings and was set to come out for the sixth, but after a long discussion on the mound, he was pulled from the game. He finished with six strikeouts while allowing just two hits. Kelly has dealt with leg cramps in the past, and he was forced to leave his start against the Rangers on Sept. 11 due to hamstring cramping. It's unclear whether his current injury will force him to miss his next start in the rotation.
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Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly: Leaves with apparent cramping
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Kelly left Saturday's game against the Brewers after five innings with an apparent injury, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.
Kelly was visited by trainers on the mound before leaving the game. The 35-year-old has been forced to exit games early in the past due to leg cramps, with the last instance taking place Sept. 11 against the Rangers. Kelly finishes the contest having thrown five scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and striking out six batters. Joe Mantiply came in for Kelly in the top of the sixth inning.
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