After surrendering five runs in a series sweep by the Tampa Bay Rays, the veteran right-hander admitted he is running out of answers for a mechanical slump stalling the Arizona Diamondbacks season.
The Arizona Diamondbacks seemed to be putting everything together, but a pair of wins on June 23 and June 24 clearly were not able to solve all of their problems.
An unexpected off day on Thursday, June 25, gave the team some extra time to be prepared to face an American League contender. Ultimately, the Tampa Bay Rays were far too much for the Diamondbacks to deal with.
In Sunday's series finale, the Rays cruised to a 5-1 victory. Remember, they took game one, 6-1, and game two, 4-2.
Merrill Kelly fell to 5-8 on the year as he allowed all five runs, including a monstrous 463-foot homer from the great Junior Caminero.
Kelly Takes Full Accountability
The 37-year-old came into this game with a 7.25 ERA in the month of June, a number no one wants to see. Kelly has been around the game forever, but lately he's struggled to get anything going and it's ultimately holding the Diamondbacks back.
In a shocking post-game statement, Kelly said he's "starting to run out of words for how bad I've been this year," according to MLB.com.
After allowing another eight hits in Tampa, that comes out to 14 runs allowed on 26 hits in his last three starts combined.
"If I had a solid answer, I'd fix it," Kelly told reporters as he's clearly out of answers. "[Today] felt like more of the same: just missed locations and bad counts. I think most of it stems from [mechanics]... I think if we're not mechanically sound, obviously, the ball's not going to go where we want it to."
The Diamondbacks were down by an early 3-0 deficit in a game that didn't see them score until the seventh inning. Arizona was outhit 10-5, and finished the game 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
What's Next For Kelly?
"Just keep pounding the pavement, keep going back to the drawing board, and keep working with the coaches and trust that we're going to figure something out to turn it around," he said.
Kelly continued, "Obviously, we're not playing up to our ability. Normally, I feel like I've prided myself on being the one who can stop a slide or get us moving in the right direction, and this year, I have not been able to do that."
Arizona is now 12.5 games back in the National League West. It's not a division anyone expected them to win, but the Diamondbacks have certainly shown signs of life, so it's not hard to understand why Kelly is being as critical of his performances as he is.
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