Snake Bytes

Snake Bytes: 7/26 - Merrill the Magnificent

Merrill Kelly was untouchable in a dominant win over the San Francisco Giants

By Michael McDermott@MichaelMcDMLB Jul 26, 2022, 12:15pm EDT

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MLB: San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks

Last Night’s Game

[Jim McLennan] Diamondbacks 7, Giants 0: Merrill Kelly Cuts the Giants’ Cable

“Merrill Kelly took a perfect game into the sixth inning at Chase Field tonight, which is kinda impressive, considering he had never even made it through three perfect innings in his MLB career previously. He ended up tossing eight shutout innings on three hits - and two of those were bunts, as he completely flummoxed the Giants for the third time this month.”

Snake Pit Video Recap by Michael McDermott

[Alex Weimer | Arizona Sports] D-backs’ Merrill Kelly blanks Giants

“The veteran righty was nearly flawless in eight frames against the San Francisco Giants (48-48), owning a perfect game through five. His offense rewarded him with run support in a 7-0 victory for Arizona (43-53) to open the series.”

[Steve Gilbert | dbacks.com] “Tremendous Job”: Merrill Kelly Dominates Giants

“PHOENIX — Facing Merrill Kelly for the third time in the last three weeks, the Giants seemingly had an advantage based on familiarity with him.

Yeah, not so much.

Kelly allowed just three hits over eight innings as the D-backs rolled past the Giants, 7-0, on Monday night at Chase Field.”

[Nick Piecoro | Arizona Republic] Diamondbacks continue momentum, throttle Giants

“The Diamondbacks got another night of tremendous pitching. They swung the bats well, ran the bases with aplomb and played a crisp nine innings on defense. All told, they continued what for them has been an inspiring stretch of games by clobbering the San Francisco Giants in a 7-0 win on Monday night.”

Local News

[Nick Piecoro | Arizona Republic] D-Backs’ offense produce lately but could use a lift in key sports

“Despite a breakdown in the eighth inning on Sunday, the Diamondbacks offense has been one of the more productive units in baseball for the past several weeks. Manager Torey Lovullo wants it to continue — and he wouldn’t mind it if the productivity started to show up more often with two outs.”

[Alex Weiner | Arizona Sports] D-backs 1B Christian Walker trained faster for stellar defensive season

“Colorado Rockies infielder Brendan Rodgers shot a 104 MPH line drive to the right side of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ infield with a runner on second while down 1-0 in the sixth inning on July 10.

D-backs first baseman Christian Walker dove to his left and snagged the baseball to save the game-tying run from scoring at Chase Field.

The web gem was among a growing number of highlights in a career defensive season for Walker, who entered Monday with 13 defensive runs saved, the most by a first baseman this year, according to FanGraphs.”