Merrill Kelly had given up just one run and three hits when he was taken out of Game 6 by Diamondbacks skipper Torey Lovullo.
But the D-Backs starter was mad as a rattlesnake when he got to the dugout with his manager’s decision to pull him after just five innings and 90 pitches.
Kelly shook Lovullo’s hand and appeared to get informed that he wouldn’t go back out for the sixth.
Kelly’s body language changed instantaneously and seemed to argue the decision before another coach came up and tried to elicit a high five out of him.
Kelly begrudgingly slapped the hand with his glove and walked down the dugout without acknowledging teammates who were trying to congratulate him.
It’s easy to understand the Diamondbacks starter’s confusion about being pulled from the game after coming out of an inning in which he struck out Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper.
Kelly had been able to get Harper to swing at a pitch that was low to end the inning as the Diamondbacks took a 4-1 lead into the sixth inning.
“As a competitor, I want to be outta there, and getting through Schawrber, Harper and [Trea] Turner right there in that fifth,” Kelly told the TBS broadcast after the win. “I figured I’d be going out for the sixth. It caught me off guard a bit. That’s Torey’s job. My job is to pitch, his job is to make the decisions. At the end of the days, I’ve gotta live with those decisions… if we get the win, that’s what matters.”
The righty had struck out eight batters during the course of his start — his third of the postseason and second of the series — and started by ringing up Alec Bohm on 1-2 fastball in the first inning for the second out.
Kelly struck out two more batters in the second when Nick Castellanos went down looking and Trea Turner chased an 0-2 curveball.
He bookended the third with the strikeouts of Harper and J.T. Realmuto and picked up one more in the bottom of the fourth.
The Diamondbacks turned to Kelly in the hopes of snapping the Phillies’ perfect 6-0 record at home during the postseason and force a Game 7 on Tuesday.
Arizona is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2017 and hoping to make its first appearance in the World Series since 2001.
“I’m expecting fun, it’s gonna be fun,” Kelly said. “Game 7, obviously, they talk about its the best words in sports. I think the fact we’re here, I don’t think anybody though we were gonna take em to Game 6, I don’t think anyone thought we were gonna make it to Game 1… We’re gonna enjoy it, take it all in, but we’re definitely coming out competitive and definitely trying to win.”
Arizona put up three runs in the second inning to jump to an early lead to help give Kelly run support.
Former Mets outfielder Tommy Pham sent a 2-2 fastball 406 feet into the left field stands for the Diamondbacks’ first run of the game.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. followed that up with a solo shot of his own to extend the lead to 2-0.
A double to left by Evan Longoria drove in another run for the Diamondbacks, but the Phillies managed to respond with a run in the bottom half of the inning when Brandon Marsh singled to right field to score a run for the Phillies.
The Diamondbacks added another run in the fifth and one more in the seventh after Kelly had been taken out of the game.
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