Two veteran pitchers will square off Wednesday night when the Atlanta Braves host the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second game of their three-game series.
Arizona right-hander Merrill Kelly (5-2, 3.78 ERA) is scheduled to start against Atlanta left-hander Chris Sale (3-3, 3.06). The Diamondbacks won the first game 8-3 on Tuesday to even the season series at 2-2.
Arizona has won two straight and is within two games of .500. The Braves have lost two in a row, nine of their last 12, and are five games below break-even.
“We’ve got to play better, we’ve got to do better, in all aspects,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “We’ve got to play a solid, clean game in order to win.”
In his last five road starts, Kelly is 2-0 with a 2.43 ERA and has allowed one run and thrown at least five innings in four of those appearances. In his last start on Friday against Washington, Kelly worked five innings and allowed six runs, four earned, on six hits, two walks and six strikeouts. Arizona lost 9-7.
“We’re in a lot of these games,” Kelly said. “It’s not like we’re coming in here and getting blown out every night. We’ve got to keep moving forward, keep putting one foot in front of the other, try to do our jobs the best we can.”
In five career starts against the Braves, Kelly is 1-2 with a 3.55 ERA, eight walks and 32 strikeouts in 20 innings. He received no decision when he faced the Braves on April 26 in Phoenix despite allowing only two runs over six innings.
Meanwhile, Thursday in his most recent game, Sale showed the form that enabled him to win the 2024 National League Cy Young Award when he threw six shutout innings against Philadelphia, allowing two hits, three walks and striking out eight in a 9-3 victory.
Over his last eight starts, Sale is 3-1 with a 1.66 ERA and has 62 strikeouts over 48 2/3 innings. He credited teammates Grant Holmes and Spencer Schwellenbach for noticing the root cause of his early problems and helping him make the appropriate changes.
“That’s why this is a team game,” Sale said. “That sometimes gets lost. You see us out there fighting together and playing together, but some of the in-between stuff — there were some weeks I was getting off the mound three times between starts. The repetition, I knew I needed to get locked down. It got me kind of back on track.”
Sale is 4-0 with a 2.57 ERA in five career appearances, four starts, against the Diamondbacks. He beat Arizona on April 25 — his first win of the season — after throwing five innings and allowing only one run.
The Diamondback are without ace Corbin Burnes because of tightness in his right elbow. Burnes was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday and will be replaced in the rotation by right-hander Ryne Nelson. Lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, currently on the injured list with shoulder inflammation, is with the team in Atlanta and could start Friday in Cincinnati.
“(Burnes) seems to be in really good spirits,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “You’re grouping up the information. We’re just trying to figure out what the best game plan is moving forward. Nothing has been determined at this point.”
–Field Level Media
