PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - POSTGAME: Merrill Kelly Throws First Complete Game as D-backs’ Offense EXPLODES in Win Over Rockies

Episode Date: May 16, 2026

The Arizona Diamondbacks’ offense finally broke out of its slump on Friday night, erupting for six runs in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies and finishing with nine runs in a much-needed win. But the biggest story was ace Merrill Kelly, who tossed the first complete game of his career, allowing just one run on four hits across nine dominant innings. We have more on the veteran’s resurgence over his last two starts, Ildemaro Vargas going 4-for-5 at the plate, and the D-backs finally putting together a complete performance on both sides of the ball. Plus, we head down to Snake Farm to check in on LuJames Groover and other rising D-backs prospects making noise in the minors. 0:00 D-backs dominate game 1 in Colorado  2:50 Merrill Kelly throws complete game 😱  7:50 The infamous Torey Lovullo meeting  22:25 Offensive explosion we've been begging for  28:00 Nolan Arenado walks 4x!!!  36:40 Zac Gallen's future  45:30 Gallen's puzzling decline 📉  55:50 D-backs top prospects update Limited-time offer! Become a Diehard for just $36: https://gophnx.com/intro-offer-youtube WHILE SUNS ARE IN PLAYOFFS Limited-time offer! Become a Diehard for just $32: https://gophnx.com/suns-playoff-offer-youtube JOIN THE SUPPORTERS CLUB ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/yc6km2r4 An ALLCITY Network Production SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtube ALL THINGS PHNX: http://linktr.ee/phnxsports MERCH https://store.allcitynetwork.com/collections/phnx-locker ALLCITY Network, Inc. aka PHNX and PHNX Sports is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Phoenix PHNX Events: Get your tickets to PHNX events and takeovers here: https://gophnx.com/events/ ALLCITY — including us here at PHNX — is teaming up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America for an exciting three-year partnership. To learn more, visit https://www.bbbs.org/allcity/ Branded Bills: Use code BBPHNX at https://www.brandedbills.com/ for 15% off your first order! Husband & Wife Law Team: If you’ve had a serious injury, Call The Husband & Wife Law Team first at 602-783-8841 or visit https://husbandandwifelawteam.com/?utm_source=allcity-padcasts&utm_medium=digital-phx&utm_campaign=allcityShowNotes bet365: https://www.bet365.com/hub/en-us/app-hero-banner-1?utm_source=affiliate&utm_campaign=usapp&utm_medium=affiliate&affiliate=365_03485317 Use the code PHNX365 to sign up, deposit $10 and bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets! Disclaimer: Must be 21+ and physically located in AZ.  If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-NEXT-STEP, text NEXTSTEP to 53342 or visit https://problemgambling.az.gov/ Gametime: Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Shady Rays: Head to https://shadyrays.com and use code: PHNX for 40% 2+ pairs of off polarized sunglasses. Try for yourself the shades rated 5 stars by over 300,000 people. Circle K: Join Inner Circle for free by downloading the Circle K app today! Head to https://www.circlek.com/store-locator to find Circle Ks near you! When you shop through links in the description, we may earn affiliate commissions. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What a complete game the Diamondbacks put together tonight in Colorado. Merrill Kelly gets his first career complete game, and the Diamondbacks put up nine runs to pummel the Rockies. We're talking about it all right now. We're lighting up the cactus light. Don't you go anywhere. We're starting now. Another edition of the PHNX Diamondbacks podcast.

Presented by our friends at Circle K. It is I, your mayor of PHNX, occasionally known as Derek Montia. Thrilled to have you guys joining us and thrilled to be talking about the Diamondback victory. that was this much of an ass kicking. The D-backs beat the Rockies tonight by a score of 9 to 1, and everything was good for this team tonight.

I am not alone. Of course, I got my guy Damon Dogg, aka Damon Farrell on the ones and twos tonight. Bark, bark to you, Damon. This one was a fun one to actually watch for once. The Diamondbacks absolutely cooked the Rockies tonight, and we were going to talk about all of it, including, like I said,

Merrill Kelly throwing his first career complete game. But this show is presented by our first. friends at Bet365. Bet365, we're winning is everything. Download the app today and use code PHNX 365 when you sign up. We're also brought to you by GameTime. Make sure to download that GameTime app right now. Create an account and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase.

Terms do apply. Shout out to you, Candice, on celebrating eight months of membership. Awesome. Thank you, Candice. And she says, congratulations, Kelly, on your first career, complete game. And that is what happened here. tonight. Merrill Kelly was outstanding and somehow has really turned the corner versus instead of those early performances he was giving this team. Kelly has been dominant his last two times out,

including tonight where he got his first career complete game. And the Diamondbacks jumped all over Kyle Freeland. So Merrill had plenty of support right out of the gate. The Diamondbacks put up six runs on five hits in the first inning and cruised here to. a nine to one victory overall. But the big story tonight, besides the offense exploding, is Merrill Kelly. Merrill Kelly was outstanding tonight. Yes, he did have plenty of run support before he even put a single foot on the mound, but he was dialed in. And he cruised through his first few innings with ease, allowing just two hits over what was eight innings eventually. That's all he allowed or, you know, he ended up allowing three hits total.

But two hits there early on. Unfortunately, one of those hits was a solo home run from Hunter Goodman. It was his 11th of the season. He has been very good man for that team. And that pun was totally intended and terrible. And I don't take it back at all. But more importantly. That was like Max Simpson-esque.

That was very much of a match. That's what Max would have. He's been really good, man. That's exactly what Max. would have said and we hate Max and I just I need that to be I'm not taking it back I'm not taking it back because more importantly what happened after that um home run Damon was that uh hunter goodman walked into the Colorado Rockies dugout and proceeded to put on that furry purple coat that was that was a move that was a move right say what you will about the diamondbacks and their reluctance to

show up their opponent or have a home run celebration or enjoy enjoy life or have fun. But putting on a purple home run coat right after you hit a home run when you're still down six to one, that's a special level of kind of arrogance. And I respect it, Damon. I'm here for it. And I respect the hell out of them for it. My thought is that I know I said that the winner of rivalry weekend should get ownership of the color purple. And I mean the color purple, not the novel from the 80s or the movie starring Oprah Winfrey. The color purple. But I also mean this jacket. The winner of rivalry weekend should own this purple coat for the rest of the season. And it should be their home run celebration. That's what I think. But that was all. I'm with it. I'm

with it. I want more stakes like during each baseball game. I agree, Derek. I think that would go a long way in terms of like helping make get the fans involved. How about like when you played like one of those video games back in the day maybe like I'm thinking like the bigs or something like that where you when you would beat a team, you'd get to take one of their players. In this circumstance, we get to take your home run celebration. 100%. I want that. But the only reason why I'm petty about that is because, again, that that's the only run that they would get today.

And they're out there celebrating that home run. So good on them because Merrill Kelly would get stingy after that. He did not respond well as far as Rocky were concerned. But he did respond very well as far as Diamondbacks were concerned to how he would pitch after that. His change-up was just magic in this game tonight, Damon. And it wasn't even his primary pitch. He actually threw his cutter tonight as his primary pitch. But Merrill was just perfectly locating his pitches in this one. It was crazy. I think we have his pitch chart here, but you'll see it's, it's, he threw a hundred pitches exactly and he was throwing them exactly

where he wanted. When you see this spray chart and the colors arranged kind of in the way that they are, where it's almost rainbow-esque. Like it goes dark red, red, then like green, blue, yellow. Like, this is, you know,

exactly what Merrill wanted, including like, there is that, I don't know what to call it, almost like an arch. It almost looks like it's a perfect straight line of pitches that he put together that kind of just go through there kind of like the big dipper in the middle.

He was amazing. He was amazing tonight. He had multiple innings where he threw single digit pitches to get through this one at 100 pitches for a complete game. And honestly, he recorded three outs on four pitches in the eighth inning, which was the main reason why he was able to make it through the end of this game. Yeah, piece of Yoshi, the string of fastballs and cutters that he put together all through right there that are almost perfectly in line with each other. I can say that Merrill for sure is never going to be like a power pitcher or a guy that goes out there necessarily and gives you a whole bunch of games with 10 or more strikeouts. This is as perfect of a night for Merrill as you could ever hope for or expect to see. And I mean, again, outside of this being a complete game shutout, this was a very thorough victory by Merrill Kelly.

This, I mean, not only can help rejuvenate the bullpen by getting the night off the way they do, but so far, this, this stretch of length that Imanback's pitchers have been giving this team has been incredible. And again, Damon and I were arguing about it before the show just a little bit. And we don't want to give credit to Tori Lavallo, as we do. but all of this has happened since Tori brought his starters into his office for that meeting, right? Eduardo Rodriguez has just got a little better, but he's still as good as he's been prior to that meeting. It was mainly three out of the five guys that kind of needed a talking to overall, but Michael Soroka has been incredible. Merrill Kelly has completely turned a corner, as has Ryan Nelson.

And it's just a complete different pitching rotation right now that's, giving the diamond back so much more length. And, you know, again, it's just been an incredible, incredible thing to see here tonight. The Diamondbacks win and they improved a 21 and 22 on the season. And the Diamondbacks scored a season high tying six runs in the first inning. The last time that they tallied that many runs was back on April 6th of 2024 versus the Braves. Do I have to say that again? The last time the D-backs tallied six plus runs in the first inning was over two years ago against the Atlanta Braves.

And I'm pretty sure that was the game we lost, too, where the Braves came back. I don't want to revisit that one at all. But again, just a lot of just a thorough night here for Merrill Kelly. This is his 10th career win versus the Rockies, which is his second most in the major league, in second most in Major League Baseball since 2019 behind Logan Webb, who has, 11 and Zach Gowan who has nine wins over the Colorado Rockies. So Merrill Kelly has been getting the job done against the Rockies for a while. And this was just an incredibly impressive night when the Diamondbacks needed it from from their starting pitcher, right? He owns them. He was, I saw his last

like 11 starts. He was 8 and 0 and had like a 172 ERA or something like that, which is, and that was in at Coor's field, which is, which is really, really impressive. with how difficult it is to pitch there notoriously. He came into this one with a 3.13 ERA against the Rockies. So that only got lower with his one run tonight. But again, I mean, you just got to be thankful that this pitching staff found a way to turn it around. I can't explain it, you know. And again, we on this show tend to not blame Tori for the losses in the same way that the chat might blame Tori for the losses.

and in this case, Damon said something very profound, which is we shouldn't necessarily credit Tori for this staff turning things around either. It's the guys doing it. It's the pitchers that went out there and responded to the challenge from their manager. Maybe Tori was smart and maybe was a good manager to try to stop the bleeding by calling them in for that meeting and having things, you know, hopefully change. Yeah, it clearly didn't hurt. You know what I mean? clearly didn't hurt.

Yeah. But, but again, it's like, Tori is the first one to say that he is maybe 1% of this that this team is putting together. And I will say there was a lot of dirt

kicked on Merrill Kelly's name for his first few outings. Rightfully so, Merrill was pretty bad. However, Merrill also came off of an injury and he didn't have exactly your normal spring training stretch that he has. So, you know, again,

it does take pitchers a bit for them to get, into their groove and without a normal spring training, it's a little understandable that Merrill Kelly here wasn't able to, you know, maybe be his best out of the gate. But so far out of his lost two outings, we are definitely seeing the best out of Merrill. And it feels very good to see that. I'm sure, though, Damon being up by six runs before you even walk out onto the diamond also probably helps you feel pretty good about your chances there in Colorado. However, it is a game at course field so even a six-run lead doesn't feel necessarily safe when you're talking about playing in that environment. The impressive thing, though, about the Diamondback's

offense tonight was the fact that they got it done kind of without the long ball. This was a game where the Diamondbacks just got a bunch of hits, a bunch of, you know, infield hits, a bunch of hits just singled and doubled this team to death. I don't really feel like this offense was really aided tonight by the, you know, elevation or by your typical course field type environment. This was just a night where the Diamondbacks really kind of jumped all over Kyle Freeland and put together a lot of hits. But meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, it's impressive considering how good the Diamondbacks offense was that the Rockies weren't able to replicate that against Merrill Kelly. Merrill was so damn good tonight. And again, he gave this team everything.

they could have hoped for out of him in this one going nine innings, giving up just three hits, one earned run on that home run. He did not walk anyone, and he struck out three batters. So Merrill Kelly, without a doubt, is our Kingsnake for tonight. The offense was very good, but the offense had contributions from a lot of players, and we are going to talk all about that. But Merrill Kelly here, again, nine innings pitched, just the one earned run, four hits allowed, and no loss. You love to see it, man. You love to see it. And this is another case where right when we were out on this team and out on this pitching staff and even out on certain players, they find a way to turn it around.

Guys who struggled at the beginning of the season like Nolan Aronado and Merrill Kelly were huge tonight in this game. And Ildemar Vargas, of course, continues to do what Ildemar Vargas does. but Merrill was magical there in the Mile High City. And yeah, Diamondbacks pitching staff suddenly looks like pitching rotation suddenly looks like it's a much better spot. Probably then it's ever been. Nothing from the bullpen tonight because the Diamondbacks didn't have to utilize those guys. Huge for the rest of the series. It really is.

Especially when you consider how much the bullpen the Rockies had to use tonight. I mean, it would be a disappointment after not only this ass kick. in game one, but also the taxing of the bullpen versus the lack of for the Diamondbacks if you lost this series. Great, great point. You need to win them. You set yourself up great. Yeah, Kyle Freeland goes three and two thirds innings.

And again, like you said, Agnos gave them plenty. Zach Agnos gave them plenty tonight, giving them four and a third inning. He gave them more than their starter did. So there is that. But again, a good start overall for the Diamondbacks bullpen and their usage of their bullpen and getting into the Rockies very early there. So this is definitely a situation where, like I said, the Diamondbacks needed an additional good start out of Merrill to start to feel like

that wasn't necessarily an outlier. Now you can feel a bit more comfortable. Of course, it's still just two games, as one of our biggest haters in the chat, we'll say. But at the same time, it's been two great performances by Merrill Kelly. So, again, say what you will, but it's what you want out of a team that you supposedly root for. I don't know if ever, I don't know if everybody in this chat. I can't.

I can't. Dude, like, it's games like this where I just don't understand it. Like, I respect an ethical trolling. You know I do, Derek. Oh, it's, Damon's the biggest ethical troller in the world. It's kind of why I do the job that I, that I do, right? Like, I have almost like built my life around I'm going to become a troll and get, paid to do it.

Oh, yeah. And I admit that. But, like, I want to see my team win games. Who watches their pitcher through a complete game and then gets, like, mad in the chat and is like mid, middle, Kelly, who wants, who cares? Do it three times. Twice in a row isn't good enough. It's so weird.

People would know joy. People that have nothing but hatred in their heart. This was a great night. Miserable eyes. Nine one. This was a great night. thousand percent and this is a again it's against the rockies but this rockies team has been erratic they just scored a hell of a lot of runs against the pirates when we couldn't do that right so there there is something

to be said about the diamond backs coming in here and holding this rocky's team to just one run in colorado at course field but it's beyond that because again this is a stretch of 13 games against the rockies and the giants both are teams that the diamond back should beat both are teams that the diamondbacks theoretically or better than. But this stretch is going to determine if this team is actually a competitive baseball team. We've talked about them getting the job done in April. And again, we revisited the wins and we said after the fact that those wins maybe weren't as exciting as we thought based on how bad those teams like the Mets and the Phillies were performing in that month and still are in the case of the Mets. right but when it comes to you know this stretch we knew that this was a stretch of of teams that

aren't playing well ahead of them and if they can't come in and take this series you know take not only the series but a considerable amount of wins over these next 13 games then i really have to start to question if this team it could even be considered a playoff contender absolutely yeah you got this has to be like a stretch where you win if we're talking 13 games i mean obviously it's not going to like end this season you know you there's still so much baseball left but like i think that you've got to win like at least eight of those games i think if you if you want to be serious about making a postseason birth and so i think eight and five absolute ground level minimum would be where i'm at i don't know what do you think eric is that does that seem like a

solid number eight out of 13 so going eight and five yeah i'm saying that's that that is that base level what I need to see over these 13 games for me to feel good about any sort of chance of making a wildcard. It's, it definitely feels like that's what they need to do. And again, nine would be great. It's all still meaningless, right? Like, because even if they do poorly during this stretch, they could suddenly turn things around and start beating teams that we think that they're going to lose against. Baseball's ridiculous like that.

But this team, specifically so far this season, feels like it really plays down. times to their competition. And I mean, again, offensively, you just feel like this team has been much better or is much better than they've been over the last two weeks, right? Tonight was a perfect example of that. There was patience at the plate, including Nolan Aronado, setting a career high for walks. And there was just timely hits. Guys on base with two outs and somebody finally gets a single to drive in a run or two. And it was, you know, a lot there early. It was another case of the Diamondbacks really not being able to necessarily pour it on over the course of an entire game, but they were able to score in later innings and add on to the lead and kind of keep their foot on

the gas pedal here in an environment where at any point, this score could have changed dramatically, right? At any point, the Rockies could have started smashing home runs in Colorado. It can get away from you quick. It can. A 6-1 lead doesn't necessarily feel as safe as it feels in other ballparks at Coorsfield. But we are going to talk about the offense and everything they did to know. night on the other side of this break. Let's go ahead and do that. You guys, of course, know you're watching the PHNX Merrill Kelly podcast. Well, shout out to the husband and wife law team because they are

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law team first at 602-783-8841 or visit their website at the link in our show notes and tell them the mayor of PH&E. Financial success begins with the right institution and the right account and Mountain America credit unit wants to get you squared up with that with their one and only My Style checking account. Designed around exceptional member service, My Style Checking is more than a box of dusty old checks and just a place to put your money. It's the ultimate spending account. It's how we get things done. It's Damon and Derek's Hawaiian Barbecue Food account. It is, of course, my account for buying baseballs and other practice. We got to keep that account healthy and strong. Yeah, we got to keep that account healthy and strong.

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to put things together. And it felt very good to see them jump all over Kyle Freeland there in the first inning. And again, get those timely hits, especially in the first with how many runs they scored. It felt like the Diamondbacks were this close to letting that entire inning slip away and having none of that production. But instead, Corbyn Carroll was relentless with one out. He got the offense going with a single. He advanced to second on a Pardomo ground out, and then he stole third base,

which was originally called out. And then Corbyn, it was originally called out. Corbyn looked at the dugout and said, absolutely not. Nope, safe. I'm here, challenged that. And he was right. The out at third was overturned. Corbyn was safe.

and then a few batters later after Aronado walked and Vargas would hit an RBI double to score Carol and put the debacks up one to nothing. And again, that was with two outs in the inning. So it just felt like all of this, all of these, this offense, all of these timely hits in the first inning, all pretty much happened with base runners on with two outs. And that feels like it's been a big, you know, problem for the debacks. It feels like when they have runners in scoring position and two outs, it's almost a certainty. that they are going to, you know, come up short. And tonight they did not.

Like I said, Vargas got the scoring started with its RBI double to score Carol, put the debacks up one to nothing. Vargas and Arnato are on second and third. Lordus Guriel walks to load the bases, and then Gabrielle Moreno delivered with a two RBI single to put the snakes up three to nothing at the time. But they did not stop. They kept going.

Jose Fernandez hit an RBI double to push the lead to four to nothing. and then the ninth batter in the lineup. Everybody got a chance to hit. Ryan Waldschmidt comes up and would add a two RBI single to give Arizona a six to nothing lead before Colorado would even touch their bats. Could tell Marte, or ironically enough, would record both the first and the last out in the inning.

One was a ground out, one was a strikeout. Still concerned about Marte on a night where the Diamondbacks offense exploded and everybody contributed in some way or another. Marte didn't. He went 0 for 5 tonight with a strikeout. And again, it sucks to see Catelle, who really should have been getting in on the fun,

still hitting the ball very hard and still hitting it somehow right at defenders who are just kind of jumping up and grabbing it. So that's that sucks for him. But the offense picked him up and they didn't really need contributions from Marte with the way this offense got going tonight. They ended up making Kyle Freeland throw 42 pitches

in the first inning. And all I can say is it felt good to be on this side of one of those kind of outings for once. I even started to feel bad at one point for Kyle Freeland. And I was like, no, Derek, what are you doing? This is war. That's what it needed to be for this team. That's how the Diamondbacks really need to start thinking of things.

We need this team to have a little bit more of an aggressive streak. And it felt like that kind of came through tonight. There was a brief rebound by Freeland. It felt like the Diamondbacks really were going to knock him out, deliver that K-O punch in the second inning. But he locked in and the Diamondbacks offense kind of did what it did there, where it just kind of went away again after being so hot in the first inning. In fact, at one point, he sat down five in a row with the only base runner being Arnato

over two innings for the Diamondbacks. But in the fourth with two outs, Corby and Carroll would finally get a hit off of him a single, and that would start things going again for this team. The Diamondbacks would load the bases with Carroll's two outs, single, Pardomo Bunt single that they mishandled that both runners were safe and then another Arnaudato walk. Freeland's Day would be over at that point. Ildemarovargas would bring in another run on an RBI single off Rockies reliever, Zach Agnos. That pushed the lead at the time to seven to one. And then the Diamondbacks were able to add two more runs there in the seventh

inning. Again, started with a Nolan Aronado double and an Ilamaro Vargas single, followed by Lourdes Guriel getting a run in on a sack fly, and then Gabrielle Moreno hitting a double for his seventh double of the season to outfielder Jake McCarthy with Vargas scoring for the Diamondbacks ninth run. They poured it on tonight, they kept it going, and definitely did an excellent job tonight of jumping all over. Freeland, who's been a guy that they've been able to beat in the past, and again, just putting up a ton of runs early to help Merrill Kelly, you know,

who cruised through this one. And again, had some good defense behind him as well. I felt like whoever was in left field was making good defensive plays. Lordus Guriel made a real nice sliding catch in left field and the second inning. He still got it out there defensively. He's not watched just yet. Unk still got it. Unk still got it.

But then Tim Tawa replaced him in the ninth inning and immediately had a ball hit on him that he had to flash some leather on. And Tawa also showed that he still got it out there. getting that flashed that leather and getting that that that that takeaway there but um just a great night offensively for so many hitters on this team il demarovar vargas tonight was four for five with two runs scored and two rbi i he also had a double uh there were doubles by jose fernandez nolan arnado and gabriel morano gabriel morano was two for five with three rbi i and one run scored uh you got waltschmidt was one for four with two rbi himself uh but the big uh big big big story tonight

is Noel Narano, setting a career high with four walks. The man was a menace at the plate tonight, Damon. He just sat there with his bat on his shoulder. Just waiting for you to miss the strike zone. Just waiting. And it worked every single time. It was like it was like prime Nolan Aronado and they were horrified to throw the ball to him.

You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was just like the unintentional, intentional walk every single time this man came up to the dish. And maybe that was just them trying to avoid. embarrassment considering, you know, like, similar to how we reacted when Nolan Arnado got that spring training bomb off the Rockies. Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah. Does anything against the Rockies. We're like making it an entire thing. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, for sure. Well, I mean, it was, it was Nolan Arnato versus Jake McCarthy tonight, right? That was the, those are the two enemies. Pretty much.

The two guys doing it. But, I mean, it was just great. It was just a great night, man. This was a fun night to watch baseball. And this was a night that makes you feel. at least momentarily, like the Diamondbacks very much needed this, you know, this kind of outing in Colorado, hopefully it can carry over. I'm doubtful of that.

I feel like that's safe to say. I feel like I've been burned before. Damon and I both have been burned before by this. And I feel like giving them my heart again and saying maybe the offense is actually back is too much because so far this season. kind of what we do though isn't that kind of our thing of course our thing is overreacting damon and i'm i'm totally prepared to say that we're back tonight i know you are and i also want to be back with you no we are you just have to speak it into existence derrick that's kind of the whole

thing i know i know look i i i want to do that david but i'm gonna it sounds like you don't i'm just hesitant i'm hesitant i've been burned before okay so the diamond backs uh the diamond backs have had very few occasions where they've been able to put up runs and then score more runs the next game. They scored 11 runs against the Chicago White Sox in game one of that series and promptly scored one run the next game. They put up 12 runs against the San Diego Padres on the game two of that series and then lost 13 to 2 to Milwaukee the next day. They put up five runs against the Cubs and a loss and then zero runs the next day. nine runs in game one against the Pittsburgh Pirates, zero runs in game two, two runs in game three,

five runs against the Mets, and then one run the next night against the Texas Rangers. But that one we won, so that one's okay. Hopefully they can break the trend tonight. Hopefully the Diamondbacks putting up nine runs can kind of get back to the earlier success they had, where they went over this stretch of scoring six, three, seven, seven, five, three, four, eight, six, six.

Like the Diamondbacks have been able to put up runs this year. It's just been a matter of their offense and they're pitching, working together at the same time. And that's hopefully what we are getting. At least we got it tonight. One night. One night is good. That's fine.

But need them to respond. And again, need them to win a lot of games over these next 12. This was a great start to this stretch. And hopefully it's just a step in the right forward. in right direction and they can keep heading in that right direction tomorrow uh again they have uh michael saroka on the mound going up against uh or no i'm sorry it's like duada rodriguez right borgiaz tomorrow on the mound um so you kind of feel good about that you feel good about erod going out there considering he's been our ace this season um he is going up against chagano uh and then we got

Michael Soroka going up in game three. Game one truly was kind of the question mark here, right? Because Merrill, we didn't know what we were going to get out of Merrill. We got one good start out of them. It was hard to really hang your hat on being confident that you're going to get what, you know, Merrill did in his last outing in this one, and he did. Came out and was even better tonight. So with Erod and Soroka on the mound for the final two games of this series,

I feel very, very confident about the Diamondbacks at least, being able to leave Colorado with a win, with a win, the series win here. But again, they have to respond and they have to figure out a way, just like they have to figure out a way to string together hits in an inning and get their offense rolling, they have to figure out a way to string together some wins here and get themselves back on the other side of 500. We need to see little Perdomo go up the mountain again.

And until we do, until we get to 500, you'll never see them again. Never, ever again. Terrence tidbits, thank you for your super chat. He says, why is Ketel hitting lead off? Easy answer, because he wants to. Because he wants to. Long answer. Because he wants to.

I'm sure there's much more to it and the Diamondbacks are fullheartedly, like, they believe that him hitting lead off benefits them. Although I think that a lot of us conventionally are like, why wouldn't you put Corbyn Carol, who's a little bit more of a fast guy at the top? And Kattel, who's more conventional power bat behind him. But yeah, I don't think they're going to fix that part. I do, I would like to just see at least Perdomo get put in that two hole and Corbyn in the three hole. Katel Marte, two of Katel Marte's five at bats tonight were hard hit balls, 95 miles per hour or harder.

One was a ground out and one was a 106.2 mile per hour ground out. So I think that once again, it comes back to the metric suggesting that Katel is going to turn that corner, just like we said. with Merrill. Like at any point, Catell is going to put together a three for five game with a home run and, you know, an extra base hit and four RBI. And then from that point on, Cotel is going to just be right again. At least that's the hope. That's the feeling.

And with his metrics backing that up, they're just trying to be patient and have him be patient, you know, but there does come a point where you do feel like having him hit leadoff is maybe a detriment to this lineup and not helping them as much as it's hurting them. right yeah i don't know but katelle's either going to hit one or two period he's never going to hit i i i don't foresee him ever not hitting one or two until a later stage in his career so i mean that's where i would i've said it before obviously and i i don't think that a lot of people

like disagree with me necessarily or that this is like a unique take to myself but i think i would go per domo lead off because he takes a lot of walks and that's mostly what he's providing for you recently is, are those walks. It's not like he's hitting the crap out of the baseball. So a lot of his offensive value comes from that. And then the, the Kattel would be, you know, have the chance to have a runner on base, maybe as well as Waldschmidt, who's hitting pretty well in that nine hole and doing a lot of what you'd want out of that spot right now.

And then Corvin Praia in the three hole. Yeah, I agree with that. But ultimately, like, I don't think it matters that much. You just need those three guys to be hitting. And right now you're not necessarily getting that because Kattel is getting very unlucky. Jerry hasn't seemingly figured it out really at all. And Corbin, you know, looks good. So all good there.

But yeah, got to find a way to get those guys firing on all cylinders because then, you know, what Nolan Aronado gives you, what Ildemar of Argus give you, it becomes a cherry on top instead of the engine of the entire offense like it has been recently. Right. Oh, I mean, again, it just gives you a what you feel. like is a pretty stack lineup one through nine. Oh, yeah. Or at least like your one through five, you're like, this is the best in the league or whatever. And you don't feel like the later portions of your lineup are this distant drop off.

You know, with Ryan Walschmidt hitting their ninth, I mean, again, he's not hitting 400 or doing anything crazy. You still feel like you're getting way more out of Walshmet there, though, than you were getting out of Alec Thomas. So it definitely feels like it's an upgrade and that the starting lineup overall can produce one through nine, right? but I agree with 2BM about Corbyn should hit leadoff. I don't agree with what 2BMC said earlier when he said, oh, God, stop it with what

did we didn't know what we were going to get out of Merrill. I think it's very fair to say before this series started that we wouldn't know what we'd get out of Merrill. You cannot just assume that because in his last outings, Merrill went seven innings, giving up one earned run, that you were going to immediately get that out of him again. When you look at what Merrill's done this season, he's not made it longer at a single outing then five in a third innings pitched, and he has given up two earned runs,

eight earned runs, five earned runs, and six earned runs. Now he's put together two good outings, and I'm very encouraged about that. We were also very, I don't know, we were very confident that Merrill was going to get things back together. However, you know, again, you cannot guarantee anything in this sport.

I'm not confident as confident in Zach, getting things back together, considering the swing and miss percentage right now on his fastball is. so low and that it doesn't really feel like Zach is fooling anybody. However, I will also say that even Zach, it wouldn't surprise me to see him suddenly turn things around and be giving the Diamondbacks better performances than what he's been giving them. I feel, though, like I am much more worried about Gallin's future than I am Merrill Kelly being this good for the rest

of the year. Kelly, and you're right, Kelly has been the Diamondbacks most consistent pitcher. So again, it did give you confidence that he was going to be able to turn things around. But to go from his outing against the Cubs being four and a thirds innings and six earned runs to two outings where he went seven innings or more giving up one earned run in both of those outings, that's a hell of a turnaround. And again. And you needed it. You needed it.

He needed it. We needed it. Not to take anything away from the competition. The Cubs were the team he gave up six earned runs against. That was a team that's playing good baseball, very good baseball. The teams he's given up one earned run has been the Mets and the Rockies. So I'm still not ready to say Merrill is the best pitcher of baseball. I mean, that's offense of ball, though.

That's not like we're, you know, raking off the Rockies and being like, well, they had one good offensive game. So that means the offense is back because they had a good game in Coors Field. Like the pitching, I think, is a little bit of a different conversation. For sure, for sure. And I mean, again, the numbers still aren't great for the staff starting-wise, relieving-wise. However, you have to feel very good about some of the players that are emerging as guys that you feel like you can truly trust to help this team win baseball games, both in the rotation and in the bullpen. But the bullpen, we didn't need to use them tonight.

And that's a good feeling. That's a good feeling. So let's take a quick break. And on the other side of this break, we're going to talk about the numbers from tonight's game. And why the Diamondbacks didn't need to challenge anything when you're up six to nothing. We're going to do that here in two minutes. Don't you go anywhere you're watching the PHA next Diamondback Show. Well, tonight, nights like tonight were fun.

Nights like tonight, you don't necessarily want to leave a game like this. But, of course, sometimes baseball games aren't this much fun. Sometimes your team isn't the one up by 9 to 1. And sometimes even with a 9 to 1 lead, it's not safe, right? So check out Bet365 right now. They have their early payout offer where you can get out of these games early with a once your team scores by five runs once your team goes ahead by five runs with an early payout offer parlay selections and straight bets will be marked as winners and you will get out of the game regardless of the outcome

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when you have such a lead that challenges are irrelevant to you. Take it to the next game. Yeah, save them for the next one, right? But, of course, let's take a look at the numbers from tonight's game. Diamondbacks win this one by a score of 9 to 1. Diamondbacks had four extra base hits, and they were all doubles. The Rockies, meanwhile, had three extra base hits,

including that one home run. three of their four hits tonight, or all three of their hits tonight, were extra base hits, which is just such a Rockies thing to have happened. They had two doubles and a home run, and they did have, I'm sorry, four runs total, or four hits total tonight. But again, extra base hits, the D-backs had four extra base hits. D-backs were seven for 13 with runners in scoring position. Rockies, O for three, didn't have very many opportunities there for the Rockies.

Hard-hit percentage, the Diamondbacks, 41. 1.2% to the Rockies, 35.7%. And then expected batting average, 275 for the D-backs, 243 for the Rockies, for that meaningless, irrelevant, expected, imaginary stat. But regardless, Diamondbacks had 13 hits tonight for the Rockies four and nine runs to the Rockies one. I don't know what a victory really like this can do

for the Diamondbacks going forward, just like I don't know how detrimental of losing 17 to 2 to the Braves when they did it was, right? But you just have to feel like with the way that this offense was struggling lately, that this is a very cathartic win for them tonight. Yeah, no doubt about it, Derek. I want to keep the numbers rolling a little bit because there was a conversation that, obviously, Yoshi and me and you were discussing here in the chat in regards to Perdomo

struggling in the leadoff position and where he's hitting. I have his splits. So I figured this is relevant information here. Although, you know, small sample size, but nine games batting leadoff this year, a 129 batting average, a 566 OPS. Very bad. Very bad. Batting second, only two games, 250 batting average, 625 OPS, and then batting third, 28 games,

245, 737 OPS, which is good for a 100 OPS plus on the dot. What do you feel about moving him back to the nine hole? I think that's, I think that's a, that's too soon. Just dumb at this point? Well, I don't, I don't know. I guess you'd move Vargas up would be the thought. The thought here. Yeah.

It's not the worst idea in the world, but I don't think you show a lack of belief yet. or at least I don't think the Diamondbacks will. I think the Diamondbacks are the type of team that they're going to believe in Jerry just about until no one is believing in Jerry anymore. Like it's going to be me and Tori and Mike Hazen. And Geraldo Perdomo's biggest fan on Twitter. And everyone else is going to be out and the four of us are going to be on an island still with Jerry.

So yeah, I don't think that all happened. But I guess it's not with how good Vargas is playing. It's not the craziest conversation in the world. our guy Anthony in the chat says do you guys think Zach Gowan will ever get it going all the starting pictures pictures seem to have got it going except for him I don't know man like I said some of the numbers do not look very good and and it's not like it's just this sudden drop-off for Zach this season it's it's kind of a you know a regression over the last few seasons and it's all of the things that made him a good pitcher for those three seasons when he was the diamondbacks ace as piece of Yoshi says the fast basketball has been declining for years. It's kind of nuts, though. Like it feels like, you know, it's too soon in his career for that to have happened, right?

Like, he's 30 years old. You'd think that he'd be almost having his best stuff right now. Correct. Correct. So I don't know. I don't know how much the impact of the business of the game has had on Zach Gallen as a human being. And I don't know how much in general that Zach might have just been one of those baseball players that was good for a handful of years and then wasn't after that.

Unfortunately, there's way more guys like that in baseball in the history of MLB than there are greats, to be honest. And we've experienced some of them. We've had some ripped away from us due to injury and other factors. I think a Brandon Webb. Brandon Webb should have been the greatest pitcher in franchise history. Should have a bust in the Hall of Fame. 100%. I mean, we do it, we do have Randy Johnson.

So it might be a little bit tough. Maybe it's a little bit, but you just felt like Brandon Webb was on the course. He was an all timer. He was an all timer. Yeah, like he was like he was on on course to be on like the the Verlander kind of level of pitcher. It felt like at least from maybe, you know, maybe that's that's a little bit of bias. But like three top two Sye Young finishes in a row for Brandon Webb before he gets the elbow injuries and, you know, start. kind of declining from there on out.

But yeah, I mean, Zach Allen, like, it sounds crazy to say that, Derek, but like he had two back-to-back top five, Sy Young finishes in 22 and 23. He started the All-Star game in 23, if anyone remembers that. Like, he was the best pitcher in the National League for the first half of the season. He had a 5.3 war season in 22, a 4.4 and 23. he was dominant in you know times that you know we needed him to be most in that postseason run which is usually the signs and makings of a really really good player is somebody that you know shows up on the biggest stage and is you know like electric when when it matters most remember Zach Gallen down in that in September in the final couple weeks of the season in Rigley one zero complete game yeah the last complete game before this was it not for the Diamondbacks. I'm pretty sure because Erod did get taken out of the game last week for the final two outs.

And Murillo got the final two outs, correct? So the last complete game was literally Zach Allen in September, in Wrigley, with the playoffs on the line. And like we just all, I think we all wanted him to be long term like the ace of this team. And it sucks like looking at a negative point four war right now in his age 30 season when a guy's supposed to be having his best stuff. first season of a negative war.

I mean, obviously it's not over, but at least for the time being. And I mean, the last two seasons, 4.83 ERA, 5.65 ERA. Only one time had an ERA in his career over four. And that was the 2021 season when he had a 4.3 ERA. His first four seasons, Damon, sub three, ERA for the Diamondbacks and the Marlins. 2.81 in 2019, 2.75 in 2020. 22.54 in 2022. And you had 3.47 and 3.65 in 23 and 24.

And now here we are. So unfortunate for Zach. And I am not confident necessarily that he can get things back on track. But again, it would be huge for the Diamondbacks if he could. And if he can't, then it's kind of like what I said there when Ryan Nelson and Brandon fought weren't really performing well in the starting rotation and merrill kelly was returning right now zack gallon is kind of making the decision for who gets replaced by corbin burns easy yeah don't do that zach make this the hardest goddamn decision this team has ever had to make we want those

first world problems i want that smoke i want that kind of problem i want this to be a thing where we're arguing in this show and hating each other yeah throwing things at each other about who collectively we want to stay in the rotation and who we think should go. That's what we want. So let's make that happen, Zach. Zach is like maybe, it's like a girl you can't quit. Like if Zach has like three good games in a row on, right, I'm ready to be like, he's back. Yeah, she's toxic.

She's like, it's so fun. Yeah. We're having more fun. She's so conceited and so self-centered, but I love her so much. And I just want her to, I want her to mature and grow up a little bit. I'm sorry. It's just, that's who I am. It's like I'm talking about. Like, I think that, you know, you buy so much in on a player and the idea of who they're, who they are for this franchise. Yeah. I would love for Zach to figure it out here and make, like you said, make this like the most difficult problem in the world. Yes. Yes. Because then, you know, you're really having some crazy discussions about what what you should be doing with, with the rotation moving forward. 1000%. Well, let's take a quick break. And on the other side of this break, we're going to take a quick trip down to Snake Farm and see what Lou James is. Grover has been cooking up for the Reno Aces because he's been on base a lot.

We're going to talk about it. Don't you go anywhere? You're watching the PHA next Diamondback show. Well, pure edibles, of course, is perfect for a night like this because we're already in a good mood. I just need a little help getting to sleep. And that's why Pure Edibles is amazing because they have a full line of candies with a full line of effects that are clearly listed on each tin.

And again, if you aren't a fan of gummies, they have more than just gummies. They have their version of Starbursts. They call kicks. They also have some soft candy chews that are like carmels and they have hard candies as well. So whatever candy you are in the mood for, they have one for you. And again, those effects and the flavors of their delicious candies are clearly listed on each tin. So grab yourself maybe a sleep edition gummy to get yourself some rest after this exciting win tonight. But they also have their collaboration with Mother Road Brewing Company.

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dispensaries across Arizona now including true leave and look when the biggest sporting event in the world comes right here to our back You got a toast with the icon of celebration. You got a toast with one of these big old bottles of Don Julio, 1942, for the few made to be raised. And I can't even touch it without putting on white gloves, according to David. That's how precious this bottle is.

And there, not just this bottle. There is an iconic bottle for every level, no matter what you're looking for. We got the trophy for legends on and off the field resembling the FIFA World Cup trophy. We also have the original for just everyday drinking and celebrating and the mini for small but iconic moments. All of these bottles are made to be raised and all of them are trophies that anyone can take home. Take home a special edition of Don Julio in 1942 that honors the artistry of tequila making and a symbol as timeless as the beautiful game itself inspired by the FIFA World Cup trophy. From stadiums to street parties, this release is close to the heart of the culture where football, fashion, and flavors all call. collide.

It's made for those who move with the moment, move the moment forward and turning every celebration into a legacy. Be on the lookout for U.S. men's national team party, watch parties this summer with us and with Don Julio. I mean, I don't know. I don't know. This, this bottle is going to be a trophy for our podcast here, but we'll definitely have some

Don. Once our team takes home the trophy. Once this podcast brings home to win. But whether you're at your favorite spot or just stocking up from home, make it a Don Don Julio, 1942. I really need Damon to stop saying that's the year I was born. I need that to stop. But I can't wait to see all of you guys out there at Chase Field for our two

The Golden Era. PHNX D-Backs takeovers. And they're going to be fun. We're going to have a lot of fun. Me, Damon, the rest of the pH and X diehards, we're going to be out there for the June 4th game against the Dodgers and the August 25th matchup with the Cubs. And we are going to be partying in the All You Can Eat section. Your ticket includes a PH&X-Dbacks merch of your cheques.

choice, whether it's a hat or a shirt of your choice, and a game ticket for entry into the Bar S All You Can Eat section. You die hard to get 20% off. Get your tickets now at go phnx.com slash events and come hang out with us. Watch some baseball with us. We're going to have some fun. Speaking of fun, there's been some prospects in the Diamondback system that have been having a whole lot of fun, including leading their respective leagues and making some very special things happen. Lou James Groover is a name we've said quite a bit on this show. show and that's because Grover continues to rake.

In fact, Lou James has now reached base in 35 straight games. It's got a batting average of 312 with an on base percentage that is as high as his slugging percentage at 416, Damon.

It's got an OPS of 831 and 32 RBI and he has been killing it. Let's take a look at the rest of our members of this snake farm group. Again, Lou James Groover there absolutely having himself a season. And when you talk about a guy having himself a season, Manuel Pena has been killing it. He now has 14 home runs this season, which is tied for his season high in home runs. That's the most he's ever had. He is also the Texas League leader in home runs RBI, total bases, and extra base hits.

This man is 22 years old, and he has been in the Diamondbacks minor league system for parts of six seasons now. It's currently slugging 641 with a 979 OPS, 14 home run, and 32 RBI. both those home run totals and those RBI totals lead the Texas League. And then meanwhile, we have Mitch Bratt, who did leave the game the other night after making a fielding a ball and kind of fell down on his shoulder kind of awkwardly. So far, it sounds like he is okay and doing well. And honestly, when you look at his stats this season, he's been incredible for the AAA Reno Aases. currently has a 2.70 ERA with a 0.960 whip.

This guy is the future, the future. And again, he is one of three stud pitchers that the Diamondbacks acquired here in their trade for Merrill Kelly, who, by the way, pitched his first career complete game for the Diamondbacks tonight in a win. You can attack Mike Hazen for a lot of things, but you can never attack him for what happened. happened at the trade deadline last year.

That's for sure. Yeah, what an unreal coop that would be to, you know, get Merrill Kelly and, like, have him pitching well for the Diamondbacks and then also getting, like, starters for the future on the team as well. You know what I mean? It's just kind of incredible. And also, like, overall, again, Mitch Bratt, I mean, Cole Drake was kind of the crown jewel of that trade just a little bit.

And Mitch Bratt and David Haggerman are both starting to trend in a direction. where both of those guys are starting to look better than even Cole Drake looks. So very positive things for this organization. But one sad negative note before we get out of here, Damon, it's a sad day. The Diamondbacks have released right-handed pitcher John Curtis. It's over. It's the end of the line. He's been released from his minor league contract.

And it's kind of sad because it was just after a night where I think he had a scoreless outing for the Reno Aces. He resigned with the Diamondbacks in December of 2025 after being DFAed. but couldn't crack a spot in the bullpen over spring training. And he's had a 3.93 ERA over 36 and two-thirds innings pitched last season. And this season, he's at a 4.02 ERA and 15 and 2-thirds innings pitch for the AAA Reno Aces. So as much as we've always said that John Curtis is always there, he's always listening, always waiting, always ready. unfortunately he's no longer

so oh there he is this is sad John did am I the first one am I telling you this news am I the one breaking this news to you God I hope I'm not breaking this news to you because that would be so sad I can't believe they did this to our sweet boy I can't believe they did that to our podcast

we've been waiting for John to poke his head up again and we were thinking it was inevitability without that this bullpen was supposed to be this year but lo and behold this bullpen's actually pretty good and we don't unfortunately need John anymore but best of luck to John Curtis hopefully he can go out there and land on his feet with another team because like I said

3.93 ERA last year in 36 and two thirds innings pitched in this bullpen he might as well been the MVP of the pen so we'll miss you John. Stay ready stay there stay there stay don't do what you do. Stay ready but that's all we got for you guys tonight

we thank you guys so much for stopping by This was a fun win, and we got two more in Colorado. Hopefully the Diamondbacks can take care of business here over this stretch before heading up against the Giants. I think the Giant Series is back here at home. Am I right about that or is that Giant Series on the road? I forget. I don't get this. You know, you would think, like, as if I cover this team, as if I would know.

Yeah, I thought so. The Giant Series is back here. It's confusing because it's a series in Colorado, then a series back here at home against the Giants, then a series back here at home against the Rockies, then a series on the road against the Giants. I need the people that make this schedule to do better. This is nonsense. This really is nonsense, right?

This is stupid. But anyway, we're going to let you guys get out of here and enjoy the rest of your Friday night. We thank you so much for stopping by and sharing some of your time with us. Remember, it's your most valuable commodity. You can follow me on social media, Inet cap underscore caveman with a K.

You can follow Damon everywhere at Damon Dog with a D-A-W-D-W-W-D-W-D-W-D-W. at the end. We're all Damon's dogs. Bark, bark. Our shows at PHNX underscore D-Backs, but as always all roads lead to at PH&X underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Make sure, yeah,

make sure you hit the like button on your way out before you go. Clean up after yourself, tidy up after yourself before you get out of here. And again, appreciate you guys so much for stopping by. We'll see you back here on Monday. Don't forget we are going Gonzo on Monday. Luis Gonzalez

will be here. We will be chatting with Gonzo about the 25th anniversary of the World Series win, Ildomar Vargas, raking at this point in his career, and so much more. So cannot wait for Gonzo to stop by. Can't wait. Can't wait. Cannot wait. But of course, until then, hope you guys have a wonderful weekend.

Enjoy the rest of it. Let's get some wins for these snakes. And let's get back here on Monday with another 12 p.m. show. Until then, love you guys. Thank you again for your time. Appreciate you. Behave yourself, Sean. And remember, kids.

Baseball is fun. But it's so much more fun when Merrill Kelly is back!