Colorado Rockies game no. 26 thread - Chad Kuhl vs Merrill Kelly

After a solid homestead, the Rockies will hit the road for some away games. First stop is Arizona, where they’ll do battle with the 13-13 Diamondbacks.

Of all of the Rockies’ offseason acquisitions, Chad Kuhl (3-0, 1.90 ERA) may be the most pleasant surprise. Their strongest starter through this point in the season, Kuhl is sporting a sub-1.00 WHIP and a 236 ERA+. Interestingly, he’s not striking out all that many batters - should his 6.5 SO/9 hold, it’d be a career low. That’s fine by him, though, if he continues to find the success he’s had thus far. In his last start, the 29-year-old right-hander tossed 7 ¹⁄₃ innings (his longest outing of the year) against the Reds, allowing three runs and just five total hits. Kuhl has struggled against the Diamondbacks in his career, as he owns an 11.25 ERA in his three appearances versus Arizona (all with Pittsburgh). No better time than now to set things straight against the Snakes.

Merrill Kelly (2-1, 1.27), now in his fourth year in the big leagues, is also having a nice 2022. He’s given up just four runs total in his 28 ¹⁄₃ innings of work (three of which came against the Dodgers on April 25th), and he’s yet to allow a home run. Arizona’s rotation has arguably been their greatest strength this season, and Kelly has been consistently excellent. Kelly doesn’t love playing the Rockies, though - in his six appearances, he’s got a 6.49 ERA thanks to 46 hits in 34 ²⁄₃ innings. Colorado’s batters will hope to replicate that kind of success on Friday.

Kuhl doesn’t have a lot of history with the current group of Diamondbacks - Carson Kelly’s five at-bats lead the team. He’s hitless in those tries, and teammates David Peralta, Nick Ahmed, and Ketel Marte are 0-for-4, 1-for-3, and 2-for-2, respectively.

Merrill Kelly has a bit more experience with Colorado’s bats. In his 16 attempts, Ryan McMahon is hitting just .188, while Charlie Blackmon is 6-for-12. Brendan Rodgers (who’s starting to heat up recently), is 2-for-3, and Dom Núñez is 1-for-3. Not much success beyond that, though. Here’s a stat: Elías Díaz, Yonathan Daza, Randal Grichuk, Sam Hilliard, and José Iglesias are a combined 0-for-19! Let’s hope that changes on Friday.

First Pitch: 7:40 p.m. MDT

TV: AT&T Sports Net Rocky Mountain, MLB.tv

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Lineups: