Merrill Kelly's Rough Start: A Diamondbacks Concern

0:00On April 30th, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly is off to a rough start in his first three outings of 2026. He's posting a 9.20 earned run average, giving up 13 runs over his last 9.1 innings. The big issue? He's walked 12 batters and just 14.2 innings total. Landing strikes only 55% of the time. His velocity sits in the low 90s like always, and his pitches are moving right, but command is the real killer here. Kelly missed most of spring training and started on a weird schedule after the injured list, so he's still shaking off the rest. Kelly owns it, saying he keeps putting himself in tough spots, and needs to stop making games harder than they have to be. Manager Tori LeVulo called the last start frustrating, noting that's not the Kelly they know. That said, this echoes his 2025 start when he had a 7.20 ERA and 9 walks in three games, including a blow-up at Yankee. Assistant General Manager Amiel Saude sees it as part of the ramp-up, praising Kelly's usual edge working command.

1:06The debacks need their veteran reliable soon, but with time left, folks expect him to lock in and turn it around. Stay tuned with MLB News Today, AI-powered updates on Kori with the story.