Merrill Kelly threw his first career complete game as the Arizona Diamondbacks routed the Colorado Rockies 9-1 in Denver, with Ildemaro Vargas going 4-for-5 and Gabriel Moreno driving in three runs.
DENVER — The Arizona Diamondbacks didn’t just win on Friday night; they controlled the pace from the first pitch to the final out.
Merrill Kelly delivered his first career complete game, allowing four hits while striking out three batters and issuing no walks.. The 37-year-old right-hander threw 100 pitches, with 73 for strikes, marking the fourth complete game in the majors this season.. The result was a 9-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
At the plate. Ildemaro Vargas had one of the nights Arizona needed most. going 4 for 5 with a double and two RBIs.. Gabriel Moreno drove in three runs. and Ryan Waldschmidt added two RBIs as the Diamondbacks opened a run of 13 games against only the Rockies and the San Francisco Giants.. Arizona improved to 21-22.
The damage began early. Vargas hit a run-scoring single that helped spark Arizona’s six-run first inning. Moreno and Corbin Carroll each recorded two hits, Nolan Arenado went 1 for 1 with an RBI double and four walks, and the Diamondbacks kept adding runs after the initial burst.
Colorado’s Kyle Freeland (1-5) had trouble getting through the Diamondbacks’ lineup. He gave up seven runs and eight hits and walked four in 3 2/3 innings.
The Rockies did get some offense going. Hunter Goodman hit his 11th homer of the season in the first. Moniak and Ezequiel Tovar each doubled, but Colorado couldn’t turn that into enough momentum against Kelly.
Arizona extended the lead in the seventh when Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a sacrifice fly and Moreno followed with a double, pushing the game to 2-1 at that point in the inning’s scoring flow.
Looking ahead, Arizona scheduled Eduardo Rodriguez (4-0, 2.25 ERA) to start Saturday against Tomoyuki Sugano (3-3, 4.07).
Merrill Kelly complete game Diamondbacks Rockies Ildemaro Vargas Gabriel Moreno Arizona 9-1 MLB