Kelly stymies Rockies at Coors even without best stuff

DENVER -- Given that he was pitching in Coors Field and the ball didn’t feel great coming out of his hand, that Merrill Kelly would have had a rough outing Friday night against the Rockies seemed likely.

But this is baseball, a game that sometimes makes no sense and can drive you crazy if you think too much about it.

So Kelly will just be happy to walk away with a win and say "thank you very much" to whatever forces helped the D-backs beat the Rockies, 9-1.

"Kelly threw the ball well, kept us off-balance, moved the ball in and out,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “That kept us at bay. We had a couple good swings against him, but he pitched well. He's capable of that.”

Kelly allowed just one run on six hits (all singles), but more importantly for him, he allowed just one walk while striking out five.

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“I felt like I probably missed more spots than I hit tonight,” Kelly said. “But obviously, to get through six and only walk one with the games that I’ve been coming off as far as being sporadic and spraying the ball a little bit, I'm happy with the fact that I was able to throw some strikes today. And obviously the offense did a great job in that seventh inning picking me up.”

Walks have been an issue for Kelly this season, something that has not been the case in previous seasons.

In his first three starts this year, he walked 12 before having a six-inning, no-walk game against the Cardinals. But last time out, he walked five Padres hitters and wound up allowing four runs.

Kelly had some trouble settling into the game Friday allowing a pair of singles in the first, another in the second and three more in the third. But he retired the Rockies in order in the fourth through sixth innings to finish strong.

“That late in the game to finish his outing, I thought that was a statement,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “We had a little discussion about it [between starts] and I think he wanted to show me and the rest of the staff that I can do what you want me to do, consistently. And he did that.”

In his last start, Kelly had seemingly tired in the sixth inning and walked a pair of runners and allowed a single during what would be a two-run Padres rally. After the game, Lovullo said he would watch Kelly a little closer at that point in his future starts.

“I think Merrill had a lot to prove after the last outing,” Lovullo said. “I don't think he was very satisfied and it didn’t sit well with him. I know what motivates him -- excellence -- and he went out there and did a great job. And by limiting them to only one walk, I think it was a reason that they scored only one run today.”

As for how or why Kelly was able to have that success despite the fact that he didn’t feel great, well, that’s something he won’t be thinking about between starts.

“I don’t know man, that’s just baseball,” Kelly said. “You know? Sometimes you go out there and you feel great and you give up seven runs. And sometimes you go out there and feel like crap and give up zero. I just think that's kind of the beauty of baseball. Even if you don't have your best stuff, as long as I can kind of battle through that and continue to make pitches and trust the guys behind me, it usually works out pretty well. But I don't think I really have a good answer for that.”