Merrill Kelly’s journey through October rolls on with World Series Game 2 win

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ARLINGTON, Tex. — As the bottom of the sixth inning of Game 2 of the World Series began Saturday night, the Arizona Diamondbacks found themselves in rather favorable circumstances. Their starter, Merrill Kelly, had held the potent Texas Rangers to one run in five innings and had needed just 59 pitches to do so. Their rookie catcher, Gabriel Moreno, and veteran outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had each driven in a run, meaning they had entered the game’s later stages with a one-run lead.

But those circumstances meant Manager Torey Lovullo faced the kind of decision that can define a postseason legacy: He could pull his right-hander, who has risen to almost every challenge this month. Or he could let him pitch to the Rangers’ best hitters a third time, knowing that Kelly needn’t collapse but merely lapse on one pitch to let Texas tie the score. Many managers, especially those in their first postseason, would operate with the urgency that is in fashion these days, turning the game over to the bullpen. But Lovullo is, in many ways, not like other managers. And Kelly is not, in many ways, like most starting pitchers.

Lovullo left him in, leaving a precious lead in what might as well have been a must-win game in the hands of a 35-year-old who had never pitched on this stage. Kelly proceeded to strike out three of the hottest hitters on the planet, including Game 1 heroes Corey Seager and Adolis García, while marching through the heart of the Rangers’ lineup one more time. In all, Kelly pitched seven spectacular innings in which he allowed one run on three hits and struck out nine against a Rangers lineup that looked potent as recently as 24 hours earlier. The Diamondbacks piled on in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings for a 9-1 win. The World Series is tied at a win apiece as it shifts to Phoenix for Game 3 on Monday night.

Kelly’s outing was representative of everything that has launched the Diamondbacks into orbit this October, including their fearlessness, their grit and their impressive ability to rise to occasions no one expected them to participate in the first place. Until they added on late, their lead Saturday was never big enough to eliminate the possibility that the Rangers, who tied for the third-most homers in baseball this season, could tie it with one swing. Hours after its most disappointing late-game showing of the month, Arizona’s pitching staff made sure Texas did not do so.

Kelly and Rangers counterpart Jordan Montgomery limited the offense early. The first threat for the Diamondbacks came in the third inning from Alek Thomas, the 23-year-old lefty who sat against left-handers earlier in the playoffs. The rookie had a .435 OPS against same-side hurlers during the regular season, so turning to someone else made sense. But for this game, in this moment, Lovullo thought Thomas fit. He is speedy and an excellent defender, and Lovullo wanted him in Globe Life Field’s vast center field. But while prioritizing defense, Lovullo got some offense. As it happened, Thomas was just the second Arizona batter to reach base and the first to make it into scoring position. (He was stranded at third.)

The second was another rookie, Moreno, the 23-year-old Arizona snagged in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays last offseason. Moreno’s emergence is one of the reasons Arizona has been able to push its season this far. His growth, like that of fellow rookie Corbin Carroll and Thomas, has been swift and franchise-altering.

Moreno started this postseason hot, smashing three homers in his first five games. He had one hit for extra bases in eight games since. But in his second at-bat Saturday, Moreno delivered a solo homer to left that gave Arizona a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning. Gurriel’s RBI single later in the inning scored Tommy Pham and made it 2-0.

Belting four homers in his first postseason is impressive, particularly for a catcher. But teammates praise Moreno for the improvement he has made on defense and in managing games. Game 1 starter Zac Gallen referred to Moreno as “23 going on 33.” Kelly said Moreno’s catching has improved so much that “he looks like a completely different guy” from what he was to start the season.

“As far as the rest of his game, I joke when I’m 50 years old I’ll be watching Gabi Moreno still playing in the big leagues,” Kelly said. “He’s that kind of talent.”

Moreno and Kelly could not have taken more different journeys to a World Series battery. Kelly did not make his major league debut until he was 30, and he did not pitch in the playoffs until he was 34. But he has conducted himself like a playoff veteran, standing up to the mighty Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series with five innings of one-run ball. He entered the World Series with a 2.65 ERA in the first 17 innings of his postseason career, all this month. That number dropped Saturday.

The only trouble Kelly encountered came in the fifth, when Mitch Garver seemingly hit a ball to Galveston, one so deep to left that Gurriel took a few steps, then decided it wasn’t worth it. Two batters later, Nathaniel Lowe hit a ball to the warning track in left, one that seemed to signal Texas might be settling in. Kelly got out of that inning without further difficulty, but Lovullo had a choice to make. He said earlier Saturday that he would consider pushing his journeyman ace if he got the chance.

So Kelly started the sixth against the formidable top of the Texas order. He struck out scuffling Marcus Semien looking. He struck out Seager — whom Arizona pitched around all night in Game 1 until the worst possible moment — swinging. Then he struck out red-hot rookie Evan Carter. An inning later, with his lead up to 4-1, he got García and Jonah Heim to strike out, too. Only Garver, who grounded out, could even touch him.

But as good as Kelly was, Montgomery nearly matched him for five innings. He pitched into the seventh, when Thomas led off with a double and scored on Evan Longoria’s single, driving Montgomery from the game. Arizona’s offense came alive from there.

Pham had four hits. Ketel Marte extended his postseason hitting streak to 18 games with a single up the middle that brought home two runs in the eighth. Carroll added two hits, too. The late-inning onslaught was deceptive. When Kelly left the game, he was still walking a tightrope. But he walked it with grace for seven innings, never walking a batter. His postseason ERA is 2.25 in 24 innings. And thanks to his efforts Saturday, his Diamondbacks are three wins from a title.