ST. LOUIS – Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly was not particularly sharp on the mound, but it was two plays that didn’t involve his pitching – one at the plate, the other in the field – that stood out in a 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday evening.
In the top of the second, Kelly came to the plate with nobody out, the bases loaded and Cardinals right-hander Dakota Hudson struggling to command his pitches. Rather than making Hudson work, Kelly, who entered the night 0 for 29, swung at the first pitch and bounced into a force out.