Merrill

Kelly

He was thoroughly outdueled by Tyler Phillips, and the underlying numbers here remain uninteresting in fantasy baseball. Kelly got whiffs on just 3-of-33 swings, and while he’s only really been dusted by the Nationals in his last seven starts and is giving the Diamondbacks length, he has just 24 strikeouts over those seven starts. He’ll draw the Angels next week.

Kelly surrendered a two-run homer to Luis García Jr. in the first inning. He followed with a clean second before getting hit for five runs in the third, including one on a solo home run by James Wood. Daylen Lile added a solo blast in the fifth. Kelly’s day would be done after five. He struck out four. The 37-year-old right-hander had been pitching much better of late, with a 2.36 ERA over his previous five starts. Friday’s blowup gives him a 5.71 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, and a 37/25 K/BB ratio across 58 1/3 innings. He’ll take on the Marlins in Miami on Thursday.

Kelly turned in his fourth consecutive quality start, limiting San Francisco’s lineup to just four hits in his second straight outing against them. He finished with four strikeouts and only issued two walks, needing 96 pitches (64 strikes) to navigate seven frames. He’ll close out a two-start week with a challenging road tilt against the Mariners on Sunday.

Kelly struck out four and didn’t walk anyone as Arizona went on to sweep San Francisco in three games. The veteran righty allowed a whopping 19 earned runs over a three-start sample earlier this year, but he’s pitched much better over his past three contests, which include a complete game at Coors Field. He’ll look to continue mixing and matching with his six-pitch arsenal in his next outing, a repeat matchup against the Giants, but this time in San Francisco.

it’s the first complete game in the 37-year-old’s big league career. Kelly struck out three batters in the contest and did not allow a base on balls. The only blemish on his day came on a solo homer off the bat of Hunter Goodman in the home half of the first inning. The Diamondbacks staked him to a 6-0 lead before he even took the mound and he was in cruise control the entire night. He fired 73 of his 100 pitches for strikes, getting seven whiffs and posting a CSW of 22 percent. He’ll try to further improve upon his 5.91 ERA and 1.54 WHIP when he does battle against the Giants at home on Wednesday.

He struck out six and walked three while giving up just three hits. Kelly entered Saturday’s outing with a 9.95 ERA through his first four starts, so this was easily his best outing of the season. The veteran right-hander gave up some hard contact early on, but he really found his comfort level as the night went on. Some fantasy managers will want to see more before starting Kelly with confidence, but given his track record, he could quickly find himself back in the circle of trust. It’s truly a tough call next time out against the Rockies in Colorado.

Kelly gave up a run on two hits in the second inning, then served up a two-run homer to Moisés Ballesteros in the third. He got into more trouble in the fifth, loading the bases before Michael Busch cleared them all with a triple. That would end the day for Kelly. He struck out five. The 37-year-old right-hander will take a 9.95 ERA, 2.32 WHIP, and a 14/15 K/BB ratio across 19 innings into a start against the Mets in Arizona on Saturday.

If you want a positive, Kelly was better than Andrew Hoffmann, who gave up a whopping eight runs while getting just one out after Kelly left. The 37-year-old walked five and struck out just one hitter, which is untenable. That’s back-to-back clunkers for Kelly, and it’s seen his ERA jump up to 9.20 in the process. It’d be a mistake to trust him as a streamer against the Cubs on Sunday.

The White Sox jumped on Kelly right away, putting four runs on the board in the first inning, including two on a bases-loaded double by Colson Montgomery. Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas, and Montgomery got to him in the second, going back-to-back-to-back with solo homers. The D-Backs had to stick with Kelly to give the bullpen a rest. Kelly would pitch into the fifth, leaving with two runners on. It was only the second start for the 37-year-old right-hander since returning from a back injury. He’ll look to bounce back against the Brewers in Milwaukee next Tuesday.

Returning from a nerve issue in his back, Kelly looked like his typical self tonight, though he was a little rusty in the control department. His fastball velocity was down 0.5 mph from last year, but the velocities on his secondary pitches were right at 2025 levels. He allowed five hits, walked four and struck out two. Kelly should offer value in deeper mixed leagues, and he’s usable in all formats with the White Sox next on the schedule.