Merrill Kelly and D-backs reach for the stars in Mile-High Denver

The Arizona Diamondbacks are in Colorado to face the Rockies. The series will need Arizona to dominate. The series is at Coors Field, so wild plays are expected, but the D-backs cannot afford to lose a game in this series. First pitch is at 5:40 p.m.

The D-backs narrowly avoided an extra-inning sweep against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday, thanks to some timely hits throughout the day and a walk-off single by Eugenio Suarez, with a score of 11-10.

The Rockies will not be an easy opponent for Arizona. Although their overall record on the season is not good and Arizona has beaten them in eight of 10 meetings, including the last five in a row, the Rockies are a very different baseball team at home.

Of their last 28 home games, Colorado has won 17. That includes series against the Braves, Royals, Red Sox, Padres and others. They are not an easy team to beat at home, so the D-backs will have to play their best and not take these games for granted.

While the Rockies are dead in their playoff hopes, Arizona isn't remotely that way. They are second in the NL Wild Card standings with a record of 83-66. They are 1.5 games behind the Padres for the first Wild Card spot.

They are two games ahead of the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets, both of whom hold the third NL Wild Card spot. Arizona's magic number to secure a Wild Card spot ahead of either of those two teams is 12.

The Diamondbacks announced a roster move before Monday's game. They optioned catcher Adrian Del Castillo and brought back right-handed reliever Scott McGough. They needed a fresh pitcher in the bullpen and didn't need a third catcher with Moreno back.

Merrill Kelly is on the mound for the D-backs tonight. He had to leave his last start in the fifth inning with a cramp in his right thigh. However, he has had no problems since then and it seems as if the cramps he had last year are resurfacing, so he is scheduled to start tonight.

Despite being out for four months with a shoulder injury, Kelly is 4-0 with a 4.26 ERA in 10 starts and 57 innings. His FIP is 4.80 and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is 44:16. He pitched well in his two September games, which totaled 11 innings.

In those two starts, he has allowed 10 hits, five runs and two walks, and has regained his ability with 11 strikeouts. His FIP is 2.90 and his opponents' batting average is just .235. Kelly has had most of his problems on the road this season, where he has a 5.25 ERA in 24 innings on the road.

However, this is a small sample size, covering only four games. Additionally, he pitched seven two-run innings on the road two starts ago, so it remains to be seen how much he really struggles on the road.

Considering Kelly has spent his entire MLB career with Arizona, he's faced Colorado quite a bit. That includes two starts earlier this year. His first was in the second game of the season. In 6.2 innings, he allowed just three hits and one run, striking out eight batters.

Then he pitched at Colorado for the third time this season and won. He threw six innings, allowed six hits, two runs and three walks, and had four strikeouts.

Kelly has faced the Rockies 14 times in his career and has posted a 3.64 ERA against them. He has a 7-3 record and 89 innings pitched. In those innings, he has allowed 89 hits, 11 home runs, 16 walks and has 79 strikeouts.

He has pitched seven times at Coors Field and is 4-2 with a 4.64 ERA in 42.2 innings. He has allowed 47 hits, seven home runs, nine walks and 34 strikeouts.

Gabriel Moreno is at catcher, and Kelly has done very well behind the plate with Moreno. In their 138.2 innings together, Kelly has a 2.79 ERA with Moreno, which bodes well for their future collaboration tonight and the rest of the season.

Antonio Senzatela is on the mound for Colorado, making his season debut and pitching in an MLB game for the first time since July 2023. He has recovered from an elbow injury that has kept him out of action until now.

Senzatela made five rehab starts and pitched 17 innings, striking out 18 batters, and appears to be in top shape to make his season debut this late in the season.

Of course, facing the Diamondbacks is nothing new for Senzatela. He has faced them 21 times, 17 of them as a starter. In those 96 innings, he has a 5.72 ERA. He has allowed 117 hits, 62 runs, 11 home runs and 31 walks, and has only 55 strikeouts.

Starting lineups

Christian Walker returns to one of his favorite stadiums, and faces a pitcher he's hit home runs against before. In 27 at-bats against Senzatela, he has two home runs and seven RBIs, along with a .519 average.

At Coors Field, Walker has a career batting average of .340/.415/.667/1.082 with 30 runs, 53 hits, 12 doubles, 13 home runs, 33 RBI, 20 walks and just 20 strikeouts. And that's in just 41 games and 36 starts. To say he sees the ball well would be an understatement. Don't be surprised if Walker has a great series.

Eugenio Suarez is looking to keep up the good work he did yesterday after his game-winning hit. Since July 1, he leads the MLB in home runs with 22. He also leads the MLB in RBI with 63.

In September, Suarez has hit better than ever. In 13 games, Suarez has a batting average of .449, 22-49, with three doubles, seven home runs and 12 RBIs, along with five walks and just 13 strikeouts.

Against Senzatela, Suarez has two home runs and four RBIs in just eight at-bats. At Coors Field, he has a batting average of .244 but a slugging average of .511. In 23 games, he has four doubles, one triple, six home runs and 18 RBIs.

Corbin Carroll has hit 17 home runs since July 1 and hopes to continue his streak of hitting 20 home runs. He has already hit one home run at Coors Field this season.

Joc Pederson has previously hit a home run against Senzatela and has been on base in over 44% of his at-bats since August 2.

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