The Arizona Diamondbacks and St. Louis Cardinals will turn to starting pitchers experiencing vastly different recent fortunes when the teams open a four-game series on Monday night.
Merrill Kelly (5-6, 5.81 ERA) will start for the Diamondbacks opposite fellow right-hander Andre Pallante (8-4, 3.76 ERA) as Arizona begins a seven-game trip.
Kelly, 37, will look to snap a streak of three straight losses when he takes the mound on Monday. He got hit especially hard in his last start, giving up six runs on 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings in a 7-0 setback to the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday.
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo tried to diagnose Kelly’s struggles this season after that loss.
“I think at times, the shape of his cutter has not been right,” Lovullo said. He’s got to have a three/four-pitch mix every night, where it’s really working — hitting edges, hitting corners and just reading swings.”
Kelly has struck out just 42 hitters in 69 2/3 innings this season. One bright spot for the Diamondbacks is that he has pitched well against the Cardinals in his career, going 4-1 with a 3.19 ERA in eight appearances (all starts).
Arizona is in the early stage of a 13-game stretch without a day off.
The Diamondbacks are trying to recapture the form that had them sitting in the second National League wild-card spot to begin June, before a 3-8 start to the month saw them surpassed by a host of teams — including the Cardinals.
Arizona had won two straight series before dropping two of three games to the Minnesota Twins this past weekend.
It’s been a week of roster turnover for Arizona, as it has been forced to place starting pitchers Ryne Nelson (elbow) and Michael Soroka (glute) and outfielder Jordan Lawlar (hamstring) on the injured list. Additionally, the Diamondbacks traded shortstop Luis Urias to the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Pallante will start Monday for the Cardinals, who salvaged the finale of their weekend series with the Kansas City Royals with a 12-10 win on Sunday afternoon.
Pallante, 27, has been a steady piece in the Cardinals’ rotation over the last month, earning wins in his last three starts and giving up two runs or less in four of his last five outings. The team has won all five of those games.
In his last appearance on Tuesday, Pallante permitted two runs on four hits with six strikeouts over seven innings in a 3-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol described the growth Pallante has shown from past seasons as “awesome.”
“There’s just a different presence to him,” Marmol said of the fifth-year pitcher, who went 6-15 last year. “His demeanor and overall the way he’s taking the mound is different. There’s a confidence to what he’s doing, and it’s been good.”
Pallante positively evaluated his own performance Tuesday.
“I thought I threw a lot of competitive pitches in the zone, my good locations, and got some contact,” he said. “Most of it was weak, and I did a good job of not giving up free passes.”
Pallante has struggled in his career against Arizona, posting a 1-1 record with a 6.08 ERA in eight appearances (one start).
–Field Level Media
