Arizona Diamondback fans, as well as Yavapai College baseball fans, had been waiting for nearly four months for this day. On Sunday, former Roughrider Merrill Kelly took the mound for the first time since April 15th for the D-Backs. He had been on the disabled list due to a right shoulder strain.
While Kelly gave up two runs in the first inning against Philadelphia, he shut them out for the next four innings before exiting the game. He also struck out two and walked two en route to picking up his third win of the season.
Kelly is now in his sixth season with Arizona. He has 51 wins with a 3.75 ERA and 704 strikeouts in his Diamondbacks career. Kelly pitched for YC in 2008 and 2009, and was an All-Conference First Team selection with 15 wins in his sophomore season. He then transferred to ASU before turning pro.