Merrill Kelly shines again as D-backs bounce back to even up World Series

There’s a saying in baseball: Your momentum is only as good as the next day’s starting pitcher.

The Texas Rangers had all the momentum in the world entering Game 2 of the World Series, less than 24 hours removed from snatching victory from the jaws of defeat thanks to two stunning home runs. It was among the most remarkable wins in recent Fall Classic history, and among the most deflating losses. But as it turns out, the Arizona Diamondbacks didn’t need momentum. They had something even better: Merrill Kelly.

Kelly added yet another sensational start to his incredible postseason so far, striking out nine over seven innings of one-run ball and holding the Rangers at bay until the D-backs offense poured it on late in a 9-1 win that sends this series to Phoenix tied at a game apiece.

A loss like Arizona suffered in Game 1 is tough to bounce back from, especially with such a short turnaround. If any team knows how to respond to adversity, though, it’s these D-backs, who’ve been doing it all October long — especially in the NLCS, when they trailed both 2-0 and 3-2 only to storm into Philadelphia and win Games 6 and 7 in a hostile environment. So it should come as no surprise that Torey Lovullo’s club wasn’t cowed by the moment; instead, they came out swinging, playing exactly the kind of ball that gave them that ninth-inning lead in Game 1.

Kelly set the tone, setting down the first 11 batters he faced with four strikeouts. That allowed Arizona to settle in, and soon enough their offense went to work, scratching out two runs in the top of the fourth — highlighted by a solo homer from rookie sensation Gabriel Moreno.

Texas cut the lead in half on a Mitch Garver solo shot in the fifth, but that was all they’d get against Kelly, who was so dominant that this dangerous Rangers lineup couldn’t even muster a runner in scoring position against him all night. This was the Platonic ideal of the Kelly start, paint corners all night and making sure Texas had no idea which of his five different pitches was coming next.

With the Rangers helpless at the plate, it felt like just a matter of time before the D-backs salted things away — and sure enough, they did so in emphatic fashion. An Alek Thomas double and Evan Longoria single to lead off the seventh stretched the lead back to 3-1 and knocked Rangers starter Jordan Montgomery out of the game, Bruce Bochy opting for the lefty Andrew Heaney to face Geraldo Perdomo, Ketel Marte and star rookie Corbin Carroll. Heaney retired the first two batters he faced, but just like in Game 1, Carroll was a thorn in Texas’ side, slapping a single into left and more or less putting things out of reach.

Four runs with Kelly on the mound felt as good as 10, but Arizona didn’t stop there, foiling under tickets everywhere by dumping three more runs in the eighth and two in the ninth against the underbelly of the Texas bullpen — the one area of the roster that seemed like a liability entering this series, a fear that was certainly founded on Saturday night. By the end of the barrage, every single D-backs starter had recorded at least one hit, and eight different D-backs had scored a run. It was vintage Arizona: no long balls, no dramatics, just tough at-bat after tough at-bat, keeping the line moving and keeping the pressure on the other team until they inevitably cracked.

Despite running roughshod over the Brewers and Dodgers and becoming the only team able to conquer Citizens Bank Park in the NLCS, Arizona entered this series doubted by many — if not most of the baseball world. (They were +140 underdogs to win this series at DraftKings Sportsbook prior to Game 1.) But in case this was somehow still an open question, Game 2 should’ve shut it: This is a supremely confident, smart, tough baseball team, one anchored by a rock-solid pitching staff and a lineup full of guys who won’t beat themselves and are a pain to try and get out.

There were a lot of cliches in the preceding paragraph, but, well, watch these D-backs and tell me they don’t apply. This is now the third powerhouse offense Arizona has faced in a row, and they’ve consistently stymied all of them. Texas will no doubt get theirs — they’re too good and too deep not to — but if you thought this would be a quick series, think again. Now the Snakes head back home, with red-hot rookie Brandon Pfaadt on the mound for Game 3 against a pitcher in Max Scherzer whose ability coming back from a September shoulder injury remains very much in doubt. That bullpen will be rested and ready after an off day on Sunday, and it seems very likely that we’re in for another tight game in which one or two moments could swing things — exactly the moments in which Arizona has thrived all month long.