Diamondbacks in position to take second straight series from Mets

Zac Gallen pitched the Arizona Diamondbacks to within one game of a second consecutive series victory over the New York Mets with a 5-1 win Tuesday. Each team will send out a quality arm in an attempt to secure the series finale Wednesday afternoon.

Arizona right-hander Merrill Kelly (3-1, 4.06 ERA) is to oppose Kodai Senga (3-2, 1.38) in the rubber game at Chase Field in Phoenix.

The Diamondbacks took two of three from the NL East-leading Mets in Citi Field last week, in the first of Gallen’s two victories against them in six days.

“On a night where you are asking your starter to go out and do the type of stuff that Zac’s capable of doing, we watched it from the first pitch to his 101st pitch where he was in total control,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said.

Gallen gave up one run and two hits in seven innings, the first Arizona starter to go seven full innings this season.

Each starter for Wednesday’s matchup has proved capable of similar success.

Senga has given up as many as two earned runs in only two of his six starts, and he had a stretch of 17 2/3 scoreless innings in victories over Miami, the Athletics and St. Louis in mid-April.

He had his shortest outing of the season in his May 1 start against the Diamondbacks when he went only four innings in a 4-2 loss. He gave up only one run, but the Diamondbacks had five hits and three walks while pushing his pitch count to 87.

“We’ve seen a guy who is able to make adjustments from outing to outing, from inning to inning, from at-bat to at-bat,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He has weapons. But I think it starts with his ability to make adjustments on the fly.”

Kelly has given up two earned runs or fewer in six of his seven starts and has made three quality starts in his last five. His issue has been a recurrence of right hamstring cramps that have bothered him for several seasons.

They first surfaced in an April 20 start against the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field, when he was removed with two outs in the sixth inning despite giving up only one run and two hits on 81 pitches. He was forced out of his most recent start at Philadelphia on May 2 after five innings, when he gave up one run on four hits while throwing only 60 pitches.

“It’s my job to do that and go as deep as I can,” Kelly said. “I think the most frustrating part is to see us lose a game like that when it still should be in my control and it’s not. You start feeling like a liability, and it’s never a good feeling.”

Senga knows about debilitating injuries. He made only one appearance in 2024 after suffering a right shoulder capsule strain in spring training. After returning from the injured list in July, he suffered a left calf strain in his first appearance July 26.

Kelly, who did not start against the Mets in the previous series, is 1-4 with a 5.23 ERA in five career starts against the Mets, although only one has come since 2021. Pete Alonso is 5-for-16 with three homers and seven RBIs against Kelly.

–Field Level Media