Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly: Cites mechanical, mental tweaks

Kelly said he stopped a summer slide by making two significant adjustments, one mechanical and the other mental, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

Kelly's spot in the rotation was teetering following an August start against the Brewers when manager Torey Lovullo openly considered a change. The right-hander had a 9.20 ERA over an odious six-start stretch, but the manager held off. After that start, Kelly tweaked his mechanics, a slight turn of the hips before driving down the mound. That adjustment added a tick of velocity over his last five starts; Kelly's four-seam fastball averaged 92.08 following that start against Milwaukee and jumped to 93.47 since. "It just allows me to be more athletic," Kelly said, "and not necessarily feel my way through my delivery but just kind of load and go." He also credits an intangible adjustment, realizing he no longer needs to fear opposing hitters. "Just having the confidence," he said, "that I'm good enough as myself and don't need to be any better than what I'm doing is kind of what it boils down to." Kelly has a 1.74 ERA with a 9.3 K/9 over the last five starts.