The Arizona Diamondbacks hit the road to start the week, traveling to Oakland to take on the Athletics in an interleague showdown out west. The pitching matchup for Monday night will feature Arizona right-hander Merrill Kelly (3-3, 3.18) taking on Oakland A's lefty Kyle Muller (1-3, 7.34). The first pitch is scheduled for 9:40 PM EST.
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After leading the NL West Division for a good portion of the first month of the season, the Arizona Diamondbacks now find themselves looking up at the perennial division favorites, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Still, it has been an excellent start for the Diamondbacks as they continue to reshape their roster into a contender. The Diamondbacks are coming off a 10-game homestand in which they were 5-4 heading into Sunday's finale of a four-game series with the Giants. On Sunday, the Diamondbacks closed the homestand with a 6-4 record thanks to a walk-off double by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the 9th inning. The Diamondbacks were held to just four hits but pulled out a 2-1 win.
Back-to-back wins for the @Dbacks ?? pic.twitter.com/AgtRzQRQ4F
— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) May 14, 2023
The Diamondbacks will send righty Merrill Kelly to the hill to kick off the series in Oakland. Kelly is 3-3 with a 3.18 ERA in eight starts this season. He has allowed just 32 hits in 45.1 innings of work this season thus far and has four quality starts thus far. Kelly is 2-0 in three road starts with an impressive 1.15 ERA so far this season. Kelly's hard-hit percentage is slightly up this season to 39.3% while his strikeout percentage has also risen to 25.6% this season from just under 22% in 2022. He does have a career-high 11.1 walk percentage thus far.
Key Injuries: C Carson Kelly is out.