Arizona Diamondbacks Merrill Kelly (29) pitches against the Colorado Rockies at Chase Field in Phoenix on May 18, 2025. Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Diamondbacks' Pitching Staff Bounces Back for Tight Series Win

Originally posted on Arizona Diamondbacks on SI
By Alex D'Agostino | Last updated May 18, 2025 6:47 PM ET

The Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Colorado Rockies by a tight score of 1-0 behind excellent pitching. Merrill Kelly took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, and a Ketel Marte home run made up the only scoring by either team.

Kelly fell just one strikeout shy of tying his career high, fanning 11 Rockies hitters over the course of seven dominant shutout innings. He allowed only one base hit, a double that barely snuck fair down the left-field line.

In all, Kelly collected 16 whiffs, 11 of which came on on his changeup. The veteran righty did have to labor through the contest, throwing 109 pitches, only 60 for strikes. That resulted in three walks, but none came around to score. Kelly lowered his ERA to 3.26 ERA, and his FIP to 3.48.

At 109 pitches, Kelly's was the longest outing by a D-back in almost two years (Gallen 110 on 2023-06-04).
— AZ SnakePit (@AZSnakepit) May 18, 2025

In the sixth inning, Kelly stranded his lone double with a heads-up fielder's choice, running down Jordan Beck between second and third base. Kelly then forced a ground ball double play to end the threat, and capped off his outing with a pair of strikeouts and a 1-2-3 seventh.

Arizona's offense was similarly dead silent after the first. Marte, just the second batter of the game, shot a laser of a line-drive home run past the pool in right field. Marte finished his day 2-for-3 with a homer, single and walk.

Outside the All-Star second baseman, Arizona managed just two other base hits, both singles, off the bat of Jose Herrera and Geraldo Perdomo. Corbin Carroll went 0-for-4, snapping a five-game hitting streak.

Arizona worked a pair of walks in the eighth, but first baseman Josh Naylor struck out, and Eugenio Suárez hit into a double play to spoil the threat.

Then, as it so often does, trouble began in the ninth inning. After Kevin Ginkel tossed a 1-2-3 scoreless eighth, Shelby Miller entered for the save with a mere 1-0 lead to protect. Miller, coming off a 36-pitch tightrope save in San Francisco.

Miller issued a single, a double and an intentional walk to load the bases. Then, Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia destroyed a fastball off the plate. Fortunately for Miller and the Diamondbacks, the ball went straight into the waiting glove of Perdomo, and the D-backs came away with a tight series win over Colorado.

The Diamondbacks are now 25-22, and will begin a tough series in Los Angeles against the vaunted Dodgers Monday.

This article first appeared on Arizona Diamondbacks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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