Bolanos to make debut for Padres at Diamondbacks
As if National League West foes Arizona and San Diego do not know each other well enough, they will have even more face time this month.
The Diamondbacks' 14-7 victory in Phoenix on Monday came in the first of nine games between the two in September, a matchup that on paper would seem to work in Arizona's favor as it attempts to snatch an NL wild-card berth. The Padres are out of the race.
Arizona hit four homers Monday to recover from an 11-inning loss to the Dodgers on Sunday. Seven starters had at least two hits, and Ketel Marte hit his 29th homer to cap a six-run second inning for an early cushion. Since June 15, Marte is hitting .374 with 12 homers and 34 RBI.
The Padres will bring something new to the series on Tuesday, however, when right-hander Ronald Bolanos is to make his major league debut after being promoted from Double-A Amarillo on Monday. Arizona is scheduled to start Merrill Kelly (9-13, 4.91 ERA).
Bolanos, 23, signed a $2 million signing bonus in 2017 after leaving his native Cuba. He was 13-7 with a 3.66 ERA at Class A Lake Elsinore and Amarillo this season, with 142 strikeouts in 130 1/3 innings, and has touched 100 mph with his fastball. He seems likely to remain in the rotation the rest of the season.
"We're excited to have him here," San Diego manager Andy Green said. "He's one of the many young arms we have in the organization, and he has some real good stuff.
"It's a fastball that could be anywhere from ninety to a hundred. You don't see that a lot, but that's legit with him. It's four pitches. He has some swing-and-miss to all his secondary. He's very young, limited time in Double-A. We've done that quite a bit, where these guys have gotten the opportunity pretty quickly. It's going to be a good learning month for him."
The Diamondbacks have won seven of eight and 10 of 14 to get back in playoff contention after a stretch in which it lost seven of 10.
"When you lose a few games in a row, kind of get kicked in the teeth a little bit, it is kind of tough to keep your confidence," Arizona shortstop Nick Ahmed said.
"But we've done a good job of bouncing back. We're a resilient group, and guys know how to turn the page. We are professionals. We know how to show up the next day ready to go no matter what happened the day before."
Kelly has struggled to regain his early-season form, going 2-4 with an 8.91 ERA in his last seven starts since beating Milwaukee on July 18. He has given up 64 base runners and 10 homers in 33 1/3 innings in that span.
In three career starts against the Padres, all this season, Kelly has given up 11 runs (7.82 ERA) and 18 hits in 12 2/3 innings.
The Diamondbacks received positive news on injured starter Luke Weaver, who threw a 21-pitch simulated game Monday morning. He has been out since May with a forearm strain, and the Diamondbacks are hoping to use him out of the bullpen down the stretch.
--Field Level Media
