Merrill Kelly will attempt to earn a spot in franchise lore alongside the likes of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling when he goes for a second consecutive complete game Wednesday afternoon as the Arizona Diamondbacks chase a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants in Phoenix.
The Diamondbacks have gone to both extremes to claim the first two games of the series, easing to a 12-2 victory in the opener before thrilling their fans who stuck around with a four-run rally in the ninth inning to claim a 5-3 walk-off triumph in the rematch.
Arizona has won four of its past five games, a run that began with Kelly’s gem on Friday in Colorado. He went the distance, allowing four hits, in a 9-1 win over the Rockies.
The complete game was his first in 178 career starts. At age 37, he became the oldest pitcher to throw a complete game at Coors Field.
“It was a great moment,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said of Kelly’s strikeout of TJ Rumfield that completed his 100-pitch effort. “This is what you work hard for in the offseason … so you can go out there and throw a CG. Doesn’t happen a lot in baseball anymore.”
Kelly (3-3, 5.91 ERA) was just the fourth pitcher in the majors to throw a complete game this season, joining Miami’s Sandy Alcantara, Seattle’s George Kirby and Minnesota’s Bailey Ober. They have since been joined by Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sanchez and the Athletics’ J.T. Ginn.
Only three pitchers threw two complete games in 2025 — Houston’s Framber Valdez, Cleveland’s Tanner Bibee and Cincinnati’s Nick Lodolo.
The last major league pitcher to throw consecutive nine-inning complete games was Corey Kluber, who did so in August 2017 for Cleveland.
Only six pitchers have thrown back-to-back complete games in Diamondbacks history. Johnson and Schilling did it four times apiece, with Johnson twice pushing his streak to three games. Brandon Webb did it three times, and Omar Daal, Brian Anderson and Shawn Estes achieved the feat once each.
The most recent was Webb in August 2007, when his streak stretched to three starts.
Kelly has made 21 starts in his career against the Giants, going 8-5 with a 3.24 ERA.
The veteran will go up against right-hander Tyler Mahle (1-5, 5.59), a teammate last season with the Texas Rangers after Kelly was dealt from Arizona at the trade deadline.
Mahle has pitched brilliantly with nothing to show for it in five career starts against the Diamondbacks, going 0-1 with a 1.80 ERA despite having allowed just 16 hits while striking out 40 in 30 innings.
The Giants will have to overcome the emotional impact of having blown a 3-1 lead with two outs in the bottom of the ninth less than 24 hours earlier. It was San Francisco’s fourth walk-off defeat of the season.
Manager Tony Vitello, who brought in left-hander Matt Gage to face Ketel Marte, forcing the switch hitter to bat right-handed, took the heat for the defeat. Marte delivered a game-ending three-run homer on Gage’s second pitch.
“I made the wrong decision and it cost us the game,” Vitello said at his postgame press conference, referring to the call to replace Caleb Kilian, not the choice of Gage. “It’s on me.”
–Field Level Media
