Merrill Kelly made history on Friday night in Colorado, delivering his first career complete game in a dominant Diamondbacks win. The veteran right-hander entered his 178th MLB start without ever finishing a game he started, but that changed in spectacular fashion at Coors Field.
Kelly was vintage Merrill Kelly—efficient, composed, and in control. Through seven innings, he had thrown just 78 pitches. After a four-pitch eighth inning, manager Torey Lovullo was ready to hand the ball to the bullpen. But Kelly convinced his skipper to let him finish what he started, even at altitude in Colorado, where pitch counts usually climb fast.
The only blemish? One unfortunate pitch in the first inning that left the yard. Without that, Kelly would have not only completed his first career complete game but also notched the league's first "Maddux" since Nathan Eovaldi accomplished the feat in April of last season. Instead, he finished with exactly 100 pitches—still a masterpiece by any measure.
Offensively, the Diamondbacks were clicking on all cylinders, giving Kelly all the run support he needed. It was a complete win in every sense of the word.
Elsewhere around the diamond, the Diamondbacks' offseason moves are starting to look sharper with each passing week. Jack Sommers handed out quarter-mark report cards, grading Arizona's rotation, bullpen, and lineup. The folks at Arizona Sports also weighed in with their own first-quarter assessments, sparking plenty of debate in the comments section.
Nolan Arenado has been on an absolute tear after a slow start, making the Diamondbacks' gamble on him look like a savvy move. Father Time hasn't caught up with the veteran third baseman just yet.
Around the league, the injury bug continues to bite. The Mets can't catch a break—Clay Holmes has a fractured fibula and will be out "for a long time." Meanwhile, Tigers ace Tarik Skubal is already beginning a throwing progression after undergoing surgery on May 6 to remove loose bodies from his left elbow. The two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner is wasting no time in his recovery.
And in Los Angeles, the Dodgers' rotation took another hit. Blake Snell has been diagnosed with loose bodies in his elbow, just after returning from the IL. The notoriously fragile lefty is likely to miss the rest of the season, forcing the Dodgers to dig even deeper into their pitching depth.