PHILADELPHIA — A strong start by Merrill Kelly and a breakout night for Lourdes Gurriel Jr. weren’t enough Friday, as the Arizona Diamondbacks fell 3-2 to the Philadelphia Phillies after surrendering a late lead in the series opener.
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May 2, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno prepares to bat during the third inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
The D-Backs had ten hits on the day, three of them came off of the bat of Lourdes Gurriel Jr. as his breakout day can hopefully ignite his offensive presence going forward. Arizona kept the hits coming, but it’s just not quite there yet when it comes to delivering the consistency at the plate.
May 2, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly (29) pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Merrill Kelly picked up right where he left off as he has had another great start. Tonight although saw Kelly experience what seemed to be right hamstring cramping again as he left the game in the middle of the sixth inning during warm ups after only 60 pitches. Kelly pitched 5.0 innings and only gave up one earned run on the day along with four hits.
Bullpen ups and downs:
Juan Morillo entered the game and looked phenomenal as Bryson Stott and Trea Turner grounded out, and was in sync once he was able to strike Bryce Harper out swinging. Morillo was then taken out for Jose Castillo, who had the exact opposite kind of outing for the D-Backs. Castillo’s first pitch of the game was a solo shot home run that tied the game up off of the bat of Kyle Schwarber. Two hitters later, Max Kepler hit a solo shot home run of his own taking the lead 3-2.
May 2, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Jos Castillo (66) throws a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies during the seventh inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Arizona couldn’t make any noise in the 8th and 9th innings and dropped the first game of the series. The Snakes will get try some revenge tomorrow on Saturday, May 3rd.
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Reporter Benjamin Bliklen covers the Arizona Diamondbacks and Arizona Cardinals for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @BenBliklen
