The Diamondbacks did not so much come away with a win as they escaped with their dignity intact. In defeating the Colorado Rockies, 1-0, on Sunday, May 18, they did what they have been doing for most of the season. They held serve.

At this point, that is what taking two of three from the Rockies amounts to. It is a series victory, sure, but it is the bare minimum. Anything less would have felt like a disaster against a Rockies team that, through 46 games, is on pace to shatter the single-season record for losses.

The Diamondbacks got seven dominant innings from right-hander Merrill Kelly, who gave up just one hit, struck out 11 and kept alive what is now an eight-start stretch of dominance. They got a solo homer from Ketel Marte, his sixth of the season, all of them coming over the past 10 days.

And they got some white-knuckle relief work in the form of right-hander Shelby Miller’s ninth inning, in which he loaded the bases with one out but escaped with his sixth save of the year.

It was, to be sure, a nice bounceback effort following the Diamondbacks’ atrocious 14-12 loss to the Rockies the night before. But they came closer to the brink than anyone would have wanted — and it felt like another weekend in which the Diamondbacks were able to bide time as they wait for everything to click with their team.

Whether that happens remains to be seen, but, for now, the Diamondbacks at least have not dug themselves an insurmountable hole. They have, at times, played sloppily. Their starting pitching has gone through little funks. Their relievers have mostly struggled.

But as they departed for Los Angeles, where they open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night, May 19, their record stood at a fairly respectable 25-22. It is not the start the organization envisioned after shelling out roughly $200 million on payroll. But it’s not a mess, either, and more than 100 games remain on the schedule.

“If anything, I take it as a positive — the fact that we haven’t fired on all cylinders,” Kelly said. “We’re not where we want to be, but us playing inconsistently but still being above .500 and being where we are I think is a plus. I think when we start firing on all cylinders and start rattling off consistent wins — I think that only bodes well for us.”

Over his past eight starts, Kelly has logged a 2.02 ERA across 49 innings, walking just eight while striking out 49. He did not allow a hit until Jordan Beck led off the sixth with a double to left, then retired the final five batters he faced on the day.

Though he elicited 16 whiffs — 11 of which came on his change-up — Kelly seemed only mildly satisfied with his performance, pointing not just to the three walks he issued but to the number of times he fell behind in counts but managed to dodge trouble.

Marte blasted a 99.3 mph fastball from Rockies right-hander Chase Dollander out to right field with one out in the first. A switch-hitter, Marte typically is stronger as a right-handed hitter, but that home run was his fifth already from the left side.

The Diamondbacks caught a break in the end. After Kevin Ginkel worked a scoreless eighth, Miller ran into trouble in the ninth. With one out, Kyle Farmer singled and Hunter Goodman doubled, prompting the Diamondbacks to intentionally walk Ryan McMahon to load the bases.

Miller then got Brenton Doyle to pop out before Michael Toglia hit a screaming, two-strike liner to shortstop Geraldo Perdomo to end the game. The ball left Toglia’s bat at 104.3 mph but went right to Perdomo.

It sealed a win a night after the Diamondbacks blew an 11-6 lead and suffered the first loss in franchise history in a game in which they scored 12 runs or more. They had been 151-0 in such games.

“We got a little lucky there,” manager Torey Lovullo said of the Toglia liner. “But we won a game and I think we overcame a lot of adversity starting around 6:15 last night, when things started to really unravel for us before our very eyes. We showed a lot of toughness.”

Rockies at Diamondbacks, 1:10 p.m., Cox, Ch. 34

Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (4-2, 3.71) vs. Rockies RHP Chase Dollander (2-4, 6.88).

At Chase Field: Kelly gave up one run in seven innings against the Giants last week, walking none and striking out eight. … He is on an impressive run over his past six starts, logging a 2.25 ERA in 36 innings. He has been equally almost effective against righties (.628 OPS against) and lefties (.668 OPS) this season. … He owns a career 3.51 ERA against the Rockies in 15 starts. He has faced them three times in each of the past three seasons, holding them to a 1.79 ERA in 60⅓ innings. … Dollander, a rookie, is coming off what was probably the best start of his career so far. He gave up just two runs on one hit and three walks in six innings, striking out seven. … He was the ninth overall pick in 2023 out of Tennessee. … He has averaged 97.5 mph with his fastball. He also throws a curveball, cutter and change-up.

Coming up

May 19: At Los Angeles, 7:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (6-3, 3.73) vs. Dodgers RHP Landon Knack (2-1, 5.89).

May 20: At Los Angeles, 7:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (1-1, 5.13) vs. Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (5-3, 2.12).

May 21: At Los Angeles, 7:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Corbin Burnes (3-1, 2.56) vs. Dodgers RHP Matt Sauer (1-0, 2.30).