Tommy Pham hails ace Merrill Kelly's incredible outing in Game 2 of World Series: "I was trying to have him go out and pitch another inning"
Merrill Kelly had an impressive outing in Game 2 of the World Series against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on Saturday. Following the home team's Friday night walk-off victory, the right-handed ace shut down their offense and propelled Arizona to a convincing 9-1 victory and tied the World Series 1-1.
Kelly pitched 7.0 innings for one run, three hits, and nine strikeouts without walking anyone. In the process, he became the 10th World Series pitcher in history to strike out nine batters while walking none. He also became the Diamondbacks' third World Series pitcher to strike out nine batters.
In a sit-down interaction with Fox Sports after the game, Tommy Pham showered praise on Merrill Kelly after his exceptional performance on Saturday.
"He was focused," Kelly said. "Pitch after pitch, you guys saw it, he was tremendous. I was trying to have him go out and pitch another inning. But you know, I'm not the manager."
Everything about World Series Game 2: Rangers vs Diamondbacks; feat Merrill Kelly, Tommy Pham
Heading into Game 2, one must have felt that the Diamondbacks might have lost their confidence after a late-inning surge by the Rangers in Game 1, denying them an otherwise convincing victory. Not to be the case, they have put out a statement with a stellar 9-1 victory, casting shadows on those who counted them out.
Apart from Merrill Kelly, the Diamondbacks bullpen also completed the game with ease. Andrew Saalfrank came in and pitched 1.1 innings before exiting in the ninth for Luis Frias who closed out the game.
Their designated hitter Tommy Pham went 4-4 and scored two runs as well. Moreover, Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll, and Emmanuel Rivers had two RBI games each. Catcher Gabriel Moreno too came to the party with a home run.
For the Rangers, Mitch Garver's solo home run was the only run scored by them on Saturday.
With this win, the Diamondbacks have now leveled the World Series. The best-of-seven series now heads to Chase Field for Game 3 on Monday.