After early command issues, Gallen cruises in hitless start

Gallen settles in after early struggles

After a shaky first inning, Merrill Kelly settled down to retire 21 consecutive batters and lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 4-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night.

Kelly walked the first two batters of the game and allowed a single to load the bases with no outs. But he got out of the jam by inducing a double-play grounder from Kolten Wong and striking out Tyrone Taylor.

Kelly then retired the next 21 batters in order, including nine strikeouts. He finished the night with a career-high 13 strikeouts and allowed just three hits and two walks in seven innings.

D-backs offense provides early cushion

The Diamondbacks gave Kelly an early lead with a pair of runs in the first inning. Ketel Marte led off with a single and stole second base. He advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly by Christian Walker.

Josh Rojas followed with a double and scored on a single by Geraldo Perdomo.

The Diamondbacks added two more runs in the fourth inning on a home run by Marte.

Brewers offense stymied by Kelly

The Brewers had no answer for Kelly on Wednesday night. They managed just three hits and two walks against the right-hander.

The Brewers' best chance to score came in the first inning when they loaded the bases with no outs. But Kelly got out of the jam with a double-play grounder and a strikeout.

The Brewers had another chance to score in the fifth inning when they put two runners on with two outs. But Kelly struck out Willy Adames to end the inning.

Conclusion

Kelly's dominant performance was the story of the game on Wednesday night. The right-hander retired 21 consecutive batters after allowing three hits in the first inning.

The Diamondbacks' offense also deserves credit for giving Kelly an early lead. Marte's home run in the fourth inning proved to be the game-winning hit.

The Brewers will look to bounce back on Thursday night when they send Corbin Burnes to the mound against the Diamondbacks.