Merrill Kelly gave the Arizona Diamondbacks seven shutout innings Saturday afternoon at Oracle Park, and the bullpen held on long enough for a 7-1 win in the opener of a day-night doubleheader against the San Francisco Giants.
Kelly (9-12) allowed two hits, walked four and struck out seven. The Associated Press reported he limited San Francisco to those two hits across the full seven frames. CBS Sports' box matches the line and lists 100 pitches, 66 strikes, a 5.08 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP after the start.
Seven innings without a run
San Francisco's best look at Kelly came in the fourth. Runners sat at the corners with one out when Turner Hill grounded to second. Ildemaro Vargas threw home and cut down Bryce Eldridge. Drew Cavanaugh then grounded out, and the inning ended scoreless. After that escape, Kelly kept working deep into the afternoon with the same tempo that defined the start.
Matt Wilkinson, making his third major league start and listed by the AP as the 6-foot-1, 250-pound left-hander nicknamed "Tugboat," held Arizona to three hits through six innings and retired 11 in a row from the second through the fifth. He walked Gabriel Moreno and Geraldo Perdomo to open the seventh, and Ryan Walker took over.
A fielder's choice by Nolan Arenado and a walk to Tim Tawa loaded the bases for Lars Nootbaar, who pinch-hit for Jose Fernandez.
Pinch slam that broke the afternoon open
Nootbaar drove a 2-2 pitch over the right-field wall. ESPN measured the ball at 432 feet. Tawa, Arenado and Moreno scored, and Arizona led 4-0.
The AP called it Nootbaar's sixth home run of the season and noted he also homered in Friday's 10-6 win. CBS Sports' batting line listed the same sixth homer; a CBS game header on the box listed it as his third.
Arizona kept adding. In the eighth, Perdomo singled home Corbin Carroll after an error by Hill. In the ninth, Blaze Lawlar singled home Tawa, and Vargas's double-play grounder scored Jorge Barrosa for the final 7-1 margin.
