The Arizona Diamondbacks will hunt for a home series sweep over National League West rival San Diego on Sunday afternoon behind Merrill Kelly, their most efficient pitcher this season.
The Padres will counter with their winningest pitcher, Nick Pivetta.
Kelly (6-2, 3.18 ERA) will bring a 15 1/3-inning scoreless streak into the series finale in Phoenix in a matchup of right-handers. Pivetta (6-2, 3.48) won five of his first six starts but has struggled lately.
The Diamondbacks scored five runs in the ninth inning for an 8-7 victory Saturday. It was their fifth straight win and their second walk-off victory in the six-game homestand, which will conclude on Sunday.
Arizona has a major-league-high 39 runs in the ninth inning.
“It’s been a tough season up to this point, but proud of the guys and the way that we’ve managed to rally,” right fielder Corbin Carroll said. “To be able to get back over .500 is awesome, and now we just have to keep going.”
The Diamondbacks are two games over .500 for the first time since May 21 and have closed to within 2 1/2 games of the third-place Padres, who have lost three games in a row and four of their last five.
“It’s just finding what we were doing and remembering how we did it,” San Diego second baseman Jake Cronenworth said about correcting the recent slump.
Kelly has pitched 13 scoreless innings in his last two starts, although he won only one of those because the bullpen blew a 4-0 lead with two outs and no one on in the ninth inning of an 8-4, 11-inning victory over Seattle in his last start Monday.
“The more I’m on the edge (of the plate), the better the day is for me,” Kelly said. “That’s kind of how I make my living. That’s kind of how I survive. I don’t have the stuff to be over the middle. I definitely don’t have the fastball to be over the middle.
“I make my money living on the edge and making guys swing at pitches that they might not want to swing at.”
Since giving up nine runs in a loss to the New York Yankees on April 3, Kelly is 5-1 with a 2.34 ERA in 12 appearances. His season ERA is 3.18, the lowest it has been since that start against the Yankees.
“Obviously with (ace) Corbin (Burnes) going down, everybody has to step up,” Kelly said. “Even without Corbin being down (Tommy John surgery), we still need to. I’m just trying to capture that momentum and keep the train moving.”
Kelly is 9-4 with a 3.36 ERA in 16 career starts against the Padres, his most victories against any opponent. He lost his one start against them last season. Fernando Tatis Jr. is 8-for-25 with four homers off him.
Pivetta has won only one of his last seven starts. He has given up five runs in each of his last two outings, no-decisions in losses to the Giants and Dodgers.
“Could have gotten ahead a little bit better, earlier on, made some better pitches,” Pivetta said after giving up five runs in four innings on Monday in the Padres’ 8-7, 10-inning loss to the Dodgers the last time out.
Pivetta is 1-1 with a 4.63 ERA in three career appearances against the Diamondbacks.
–Field Level Media
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