Merrill Kelly, D-backs eye three-game sweep of Yankees

During spring training, the New York Yankees announced they would no longer play Frank Sinatra’s “(Theme From) New York, New York” following home losses.

The Arizona Diamondbacks did enough to ensure other songs would be heard after the final out the past two days at Yankee Stadium. They will get a chance to complete the sweep Thursday night when the teams conclude a three-game series.

The Diamondbacks are going for their fourth straight win after starting the series with a pair of close victories in chilly conditions.

After rallying on Eugenio Suarez’s grand slam in the eighth inning for a 7-5 victory on Tuesday when the game-time temperature was 50 degrees, the Diamondbacks clinched the series victory with a 4-3 victory on a night that was 8 degrees cooler.

“It was not an easy game for either team, but we came out and made a strong statement,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said.

Lovullo saw his team take a four-run lead in the opening two innings and then watched Zac Gallen tie a career high with 13 strikeouts in 6 2/3 overpowering innings, one night after Corbin Burnes struck out eight in his debut for the Diamondbacks.

Arizona’s Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a two-run homer three batters in while Ketel Marte walked twice and hit an RBI single after agreeing to a six-year, $116.5 million contract extension earlier Wednesday.

The Yankees hit their 19th homer, giving them the most in major league history through the first five games of a season. Anthony Volpe belted a three-run shot with one out in the ninth, but the Yankees struck out 16 times, giving them 30 whiffs in the series.

Aaron Judge fanned three times and has seven strikeouts so far. New York’s top four hitters, Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. went a combined 3-for-31 with 16 strikeouts over the past two games.

“We weren’t able to mount too much,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We had one scoring opportunity, third or fourth inning, couldn’t cash in.”

After Gallen’s dominating performance, Arizona’s Merrill Kelly (1-0, 1.69 ERA) closes out the series. Kelly is coming off a solid season debut, when he allowed one run on three hits in 5 1/3 innings during an 8-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday. He worked around four walks.

Kelly allowed three runs or fewer in nine of his 13 starts last year.

One of those outings occurred when he took a no-decision against the Yankees after yielding two runs on five hits in seven innings on April 3, 2024. Kelly is 1-0 with a 2.60 ERA in three career starts against the Yankees. Bellinger is 7-for-26 (.269) with two homers off Kelly, who has also given up long balls to Judge and Austin Wells.

Carlos Carrasco (0-0, 13.50 ERA) will make his first start for the Yankees after going 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA in five spring training appearances. He permitted three runs in a two-inning relief stint against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.

Carrasco is likely holding the spot in the rotation until Clarke Schmidt returns from a shoulder injury sometime in the next week or two. Last season, Carrasco went 3-10 with a 5.64 ERA in 21 starts for the Cleveland Guardians.

The 38-year-old right-hander is 2-1 with a 2.05 ERA in five career appearances (four starts) against Arizona. His last outing against the Diamondbacks occurred in Cleveland on April 13, 2024, when Carrasco allowed one run on five hits in 4 2/3 innings.

–Field Level Media