The Arizona Diamondbacks can perfect their three-game winning streak against the Boston Red Sox with a win on Sunday.
Arizona won Friday night’s opener 12-2 and picked up a 4-1 victory on Saturday. The Diamondbacks enter Sunday’s game on a five-game winning streak, all on the road.
Saturday’s win was the Diamondbacks’ 11th series win in their last 12 tries. The only exception was last weekend when Tampa Bay swept a three-game series as Arizona began its nine-game road trip. The Diamondbacks are 25-8 since the All-Star break.
Arizona’s starting pitchers – Ryne Nelson on Friday and Zac Gallen on Saturday – combined to allow two runs on seven hits in twelve innings.
“These guys (the Diamondbacks) are really good,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “What they’re doing isn’t just against us — they’re against everybody. It’s a different style of pitching, too. Different angles, they change speeds, they don’t give in. You have to be very tenacious in the zone.”
“They’re really good at what they do. They’re probably one of the best teams in the major leagues right now. They’re athletic, they run the bases well, they have good at-bats – it’s a complete team.”
Arizona’s Eugenio Suarez has four hits and seven RBIs in the Series. He collected five RBIs – including a grand slam – on Friday and had a two-run double in Saturday’s win.
Boston’s pitchers allowed six walks on Saturday, including four in the seventh inning when Arizona scored two runs without getting a hit.
“If the pitcher has good stuff or is attacking and we don’t get hits, I think our patience will pay off,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “We’ll get some baserunners and create some opportunities to score. We did that today.”
The first run was forced by a walk in the seventh inning and the second was scored by a wild pitch by Brennan Bernardino.
“We obviously can’t do that at this level,” Cora said. “We had the right matchups. It just didn’t work out.”
In Sunday’s pitcher clash, right-hander Merrill Kelly (3-0, 3.63 ERA) from Arizona will face right-hander Tanner Houck (8-8, 3.01) from Boston.
Kelly has made two starts since returning from the 60-day injured list with a shoulder injury. He allowed two runs in five innings to beat the Phillies in the first start, then allowed six runs and eight hits in five innings in an 8-7 loss to Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg on Aug. 18.
Kelly has faced the Red Sox twice in his career and has a record of 1-1 with a 1.26 ERA. He has 19 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings against Boston and had 10 strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings with one run against the Red Sox last season.
Houck has made three straight good starts, allowing three runs (two earned) in six innings of a 5-4 loss to Houston on Monday. His only career start came against Arizona last season — in that game with 10 strikeouts against Kelly — and he lost after allowing four runs on six hits in four innings. Arizona’s Corbin Carroll and Geraldo Perdomo each hit a home run against Houck.
The Red Sox expect outfielder Tyler O’Neill to play Sunday after missing the last three games because of a swollen finger on his left hand.
“He should be in the lineup,” Cora said.
