SAN FRANCISCO – Monday night was cool, calm, and collected for the D-Backs as they won their first game of the series against the San Francisco Giants by a score of 2-1.
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May 12, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Arizona D-Backs starting pitcher Merrill Kelly (29) delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
Merrill Kelly went deep into his start again and was outstanding on the night. Pitching seven innings while only giving up one earned run and striking out eight hitters showed how locked in he was. Kelly was confident and composed all game, and looks more in rhythm as his these decent starts are piling up. His cramping issues also didn’t play a part, which is more than a sigh of relief for this ball club.
Key plays on Monday night:
In the first inning of the game, there was a confusing and unfortunate string of events as Josh Naylor seemingly had a triple, but since the ball was stuck under the wall at Oracle Park, Carroll had to return to third and Naylor to second. Shortly after, Eugenio Suarez grounded out to end the inning, stranding two runners. That seemed to be the theme for both teams on Monday, as missed opportunities played a big part.
May 12, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Arizona D-Backs left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (12) hits a double during the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
Corbin Carroll continued his hot streak as he hit his 12th and 13th home runs of the season. Carroll hit both home runs off of Justin Verlander in the top of the third and fifth innings. To say that Carroll has been on one of the hottest streaks of any player to start the season is an understatement.
Corbin Carroll did it again!!!
Carroll hits his second home run off of Justin Verlander as the @Dbacks take a 2-0 lead over the @SFGiants!#Dbacks #SFGiants #MLB https://t.co/iRYb1gorR4
— Burn City Sports (@BurnCitySports) May 13, 2025
In the bottom of the eighth inning, San Francisco had a runner on first base, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. made an incredible catch that helped save the tying run from possibly scoring.
CATCH OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE: take a bow Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
A true game saver right there pic.twitter.com/0m2sxmqCaO
— Dalton Feely (@dfeely14) May 13, 2025
This was a game of run killers, as both teams had their chances. Regardless of whether it was a double play ball or nonaggressive plate appearances, Arizona and San Francisco both had tons of opportunities that they could have capitalized on. The Snakes just made the extra effort on Monday that helped them come out on top. The D-Backs will face the Giants again tomorrow Tuesday, May 13th at Oracle Park at 6:45 p.m. PT.
May 12, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants second baseman Christian Koss (50) is caught in a run down attempting to stretch the single to a double by Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte (4) during the fifth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
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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
