Arizona Diamondbacks (72-84) vs. San Francisco Giants (77-78)
The Arizona Diamondbacks take on the San Francisco Giants in the opening contest of a three-game series at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California, with the first pitch at 10:15 PM ET. It’s Game 17 of their NL West regular-season set, and the Diamondbacks search for their tenth victory over the Giants in 2022.
Arizona will send Merrill Kelly to the mound, and the 33-year-old right-hander is 3-0 with a shiny 1.53 ERA in five starts against the Giants this season. San Francisco will counter with Alex Cobb, who’s 1-2 with a 4.70 ERA in four dates with the D-backs in 2022.
The Arizona Diamondbacks snapped their two-game skid last Wednesday, outlasting the AL-leading Houston Astros 5-2 in ten innings. Zac Gallen had another great game, tossing seven frames of a two-run ball, while Christian Walker hit a crucial two-run single in the top of the tenth. Walker has 14 hits, four home runs, and 12 RBI in his last 14 games and 55 at-bats, while Ketel Marte is 10-for-44 with four doubles and a couple of dingers in his previous 13 games.
Christian Walker delivers some big-time insurance runs! pic.twitter.com/t6NAk9lo8K
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) September 29, 2022
Merrill Kelly has dominated the Giants so far this season. He pitched seven innings of a two-run ball while striking out six in a 5-2 home victory against San Francisco this past Saturday. Kelly snapped his two-game skid after surrendering eight earned runs in a couple of starts against the LA Dodgers. Merrill is 13-7 with a nice 3.13 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 168/57 K/BB ratio in 31 starts (189.2 innings pitched) in 2022, but he’s struggled a bit over his previous seven starts, tallying a 4.17 ERA and 4.81 FIP.
Kelly’s four-seamer has a strong minus-10 run value, and he uses it nearly 30 percent of the time. The veteran righty ranks in the 65th percentile or higher in expected batting average, hard-hit percentage, and xwOBA.