D-backs turn to consistent Merrill Kelly in bid to jolt Cards

Merrill Kelly has remained consistent for the Arizona Diamondbacks as they try to stay competitive in the National League West.

Kelly (5-2, 3.26 ERA) has allowed two earned runs or less in eight of his 10 starts this season. The right-hander permitted just one run in 14 innings while winning his last two starts, and he struck out 11 and yielded one hit in a 1-0 victory Sunday over the Colorado Rockies in his previous outing.

Kelly will try to keep rolling on Saturday afternoon when the Diamondbacks continue their three-game series against the Cardinals in St. Louis.

The Cardinals, however, held on for a 4-3 victory Friday night in the series opener. They improved to 17-8 at home.

Kelly's unflappable mound demeanor sets a tone for the Arizona rotation, which has 23 quality starts this season.

"There's consistency with his mentality," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. "He's just super engaged and super prepared, and (he) can flip the script and turn the page as good as anybody I know. And that's maturity."

Kelly, 36, pitched for four seasons in South Korea before breaking into the major leagues at the age of 30.

"That's my job at the end of the day -- to execute one pitch at a time," Kelly said. "The focus is that pitch, and then whatever happens with that pitch, whether it's good or bad, the focus is the next pitch.

"Obviously, you take what that pitch gives you. Like, if it's not the pitch that I tried to execute, there's something to learn from that pitch and something to use from that pitch."

Kelly is 3-1 with a 2.75 ERA in six career starts against the Cardinals.

The Diamondbacks, who have lost three straight games, made a roster adjustment ahead of this series. They activated Justin Martinez from the 15-day injured list and sent fellow right-hander Christian Montes De Oca to Triple-A Reno.

The Cardinals lost three of four games before rebounding on Friday. They will turn to left-hander Matthew Liberatore (3-3, 2.92 ERA) to start Saturday's game.

Liberatore has allowed two runs or less in his last seven outings during his breakout campaign as a starter. In his most recent outing, he held the Royals to one run on six hits in six innings Sunday at Kansas City, but the Cardinals lost 2-1.

Liberatore struck out five and walked one in a no-decision.

"I think any time you can get through six innings and give up one run, that's a pretty decent day," Liberatore said. "Obviously, there are some things I would have liked to do better today, but the velocity wasn't quite as high as it has been, and I felt like the command wasn't quite as good.

"But the curveball came into play today, and that ended up being a real weapon for me to keep guys off of the other stuff."

This will be Liberatore's first career outing against the Diamondbacks.

The Cardinals hope to get first baseman Willson Contreras back in the lineup for Saturday's game. Contreras, who leads the team with 28 RBIs, was a late scratch from Friday's lineup due to back spasms.

--Field Level Media