Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly fills void that starting rotation missed

Earlier in the month, when the Diamondbacks decided to shift to a six-man rotation, right-hander Merrill Kelly broached the topic of reaching the 200-inning plateau with his superiors.

In Kelly’s mind, the number is a sort of representation of what he aspires to be as a starting pitcher. He hoped the extra starter would not prevent him from going after that mark, and he hoped he would not inconvenience any of his teammates if changes were made to accommodate him.

After Kelly added seven more innings to his season totals on Saturday evening in a 5-1 win over the San Francisco Giants, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo all but assured reporters that the veteran starter would take the ball twice more before the season is over. And Kelly expressed gratitude that his organization was willing to give him that opportunity.

“It’s big,” he said after running his season total to 189 2/3 innings. “With where we’re at in the season it would be very easy for them to say, ‘Hey, you’ve got one more and that’ll be it for the year, just to make sure you’re fresh for next year.’

“Obviously, we’re not fighting for a playoff spot or anything like that, so the fact that they’re willing to kind of change some things around and shift the rotation to give me that opportunity, even if it is just kind of a pride milestone, if anything, it means a lot from them. It means they care about what we care about, too, and not just looking at it from a front office standpoint.”

Kelly had little trouble with the Giants — a statement has held true throughout his career but never more so than this season. In 15 career starts against the Giants, Kelly has pitched to a 2.55 ERA. After giving up two runs on four hits and a walk on Saturday, he has a 1.53 ERA.

With the way the schedule is likely to play out, Kelly is expected to pitch against the Giants on Friday in San Francisco before taking the ball on the final day of the season in Milwaukee on Oct. 5.

Given his track record of working deep into games this season — he has averaged a little more than six innings per start — he would appear to be in good position to reach the 200-inning mark.

“I think he’s looking squarely at it, that he’s going to have the ability to go out there and accomplish that goal,” Lovullo said. “As of right now — and I am allowed to change my mind — he is going to have two more starts.”

Kelly sounded genuinely grateful for that opportunity, particularly given how it is expected to play out.

“I wanted to do it but I also wanted to make sure that if we are going to do it, I wasn’t going to affect anybody else’s spot,” Kelly said. “I didn’t want people pitching on five days (rest) and then having to pitch on seven and having to flip flop just to get me that opportunity. I think there might be a little of that going into this last week. I think most of the people who are going to be effected are the young guys and I think they understand the reality of why that is.”

This would not be the first time Kelly was able to reach 200 innings, doing so while pitching in Korea in 2016.

“That’s a little bit different animal than the big leagues,” Kelly said. “It would probably — it would definitely, not probably — it would definitely mean a lot more in the big leagues than over there.”