ATLANTA — Right-hander Merrill Kelly is perfect through four innings, and the Diamondbacks lead the Atlanta Braves, 1-0, as play continued in the bottom of the fifth on Wednesday (June 4) at Truist Park.

Kelly has recorded six strikeouts so far, needing just 44 pitches. He has benefited from a couple of hard-hit balls finding defenders. In the second, Marcell Ozuna’s hard smash to left field went right to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Two innings later, it was an Austin Riley liner that was caught by shortstop Geraldo Perdomo.

The Diamondbacks scored a run in the third off Braves lefty Chris Sale when Gurriel dumped a run-scoring single into center field to bring home Geraldo Perdomo, who walked to lead off the inning.

The game began late following a one-hour, six-minute rain delay.

Game has an estimated start time

ATLANTA — The Arizona Diamondbacks‘ game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on Wednesday evening (June 4) is scheduled to begin at 5:20 p.m. MST, which would amount to a one-hour, five-minute delay by rain.

First pitch delayed by rain

ATLANTA — The Diamondbacks-Braves game on June 4 will not start on time.

A first pitch time has not yet been determined.

The Truist Park field has been covered by a tarp for most of the afternoon because of rain. Batting practice was canceled.

Gallen-Moreno pairing yields good results

ATLANTA – Right-hander Zac Gallen went out of his way to praise the game-calling of catcher Gabriel Moreno on June 3 against the Atlanta Braves. That isn’t an unusual thing for a pitcher to do, but it felt noteworthy given that his results hadn’t been there when working with Moreno for much of this season.

“I know Gabi hit the books and started studying and did a really nice job of reading swings and making adjustments,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “I think that’s what Zac wants. Zac is very in charge of what’s going on and studies as much as anybody, but in this case, I think Gabi got into a good rhythm with him and they were seeing the same thing the same way.”

Entering the start, Gallen had thrown to Moreno six times this season, notching a 6.89 ERA in 31 1/3 innings. Those results were enough to prompt Lovullo to give backup Jose Herrera each of Gallen’s previous two starts.

But after Gallen struggled again with Herrera behind the plate on May 28 vs. the Pirates, Moreno got the start against the Braves, and Gallen shined, giving up just one earned run in seven innings.

“I’ve got to give credit to Gabi,” Gallen said after the game. “I think I shook off twice tonight. He was locked in back there, and we were on a really good rhythm and a really good page. It was good.”

ATLANTA – Former Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero has been working with the big-league club in recent days, taking on what manager Torey Lovullo described as a sort of advisory role with the team.

“I asked him to be here,” Lovullo said. “He’s an incredible baseball mind. (I told him,) ‘Just put eyes on us. Just pay attention to us. Tell me what we’re missing. Where are the gaps? Where are the deficits? Just oversee what’s going on here.’”

Lovullo added: “He has a very keen eye in the catching department, so he probably will be sitting in on more pitcher/catcher meetings, help the catchers evolve along with (bench coach) Jeff Banister. But, overall, I just like the baseball mind, being able to come in here and help every single one of us.”

Montero spent parts of nine seasons with the Diamondbacks during a 13-year playing career and is the franchise leader in games caught. He rejoined the organization prior to the 2023 season as a special assistant in player development.

Montero has been sitting in the Diamondbacks’ dugout since May 31 and is traveling with the club on its current road trip.

‘Really good’ Ryne Nelson returns as starter for DBacks

ATLANTA — These days, Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson seems to get a new role every week — and he seems to handle each the same way.

“Yeah,” he said, smiling, when asked if he was getting used to the constant change. “A little bit of flexibility never hurt anybody.”

Last week, Nelson was being viewed as a potential salve for the club’s troubled late-inning relief corps. But in the wake of right-hander Corbin Burnes’ elbow injury, Nelson instead will head back to the starting rotation, where he will be tasked with replacing a pitcher who had just signed a $210 million contract.

Once again, he is taking the change in stride.

“Obviously, first and foremost, just thinking about Corbin and hoping that he’s not facing anything too serious and it’s something he can come back for and get back with his team,” Nelson said. “He’s definitely a big piece of what we’ve got going on here.

“Whatever I can do to help the team and get out there and get some outs, I’m going to put everything I can into it and prepare and just do what I can.”

He’s targeted for a start in Cincinnati for the second game of a three-game weekend series on June 7.

For most of the past year, Nelson has been perfectly capable, no matter the role. At this point last season, Nelson owned a 6.02 ERA. His spot in the rotation was largely a product of his health — that is to say, he had his at a time when others did not.

But sometime around then, things began to click for him on the mound, and for most of the final three-plus months of the season, he was the Diamondbacks’ best starting pitcher. Despite opening this year in the bullpen — he was crowded out of the rotation as a result of the aforementioned Burnes signing — Nelson has continued to put up solid results.

From July 2, 2024, through the end of May, Nelson has logged a 3.18 ERA in 124 2/3 innings with 27 walks and 115 strikeouts.

The reasons offered for Nelson’s turnaround vary depending on who is asked. For manager Torey Lovullo, it comes down to pitch sequencing as well as improvements with his cutter and breaking ball.

“Now he has a really good down-breaking ball that forces right-handed hitters to reach a little bit,” Lovullo said. “It’s three really, really good pitches.”

Assistant general manager Amiel Sawdaye agreed, adding that Nelson has a better recognition of what works for him at the major league level.

“There’s better command, more execution this year than there was in previous times,” Sawdaye said. “I think that’s part of a young pitcher knowing you don’t have to rear back and (blow it by guys). If you throw 93, 94 on the black, it’s better than 97 mislocated. I think we can tell these guys that, but I don’t know that they actually believe it until they go through it.”

Nelson sees improvements in his repertoire, but the first thing he noted is how much better his mentality has become compared to early last season. He said he has found a way to stay focused on what he can do next rather than being fixated on a previous outing.

“I think I was riding the good ones out too long and really wearing the bad ones for a long time,” he said. “I think that’s a dangerous game to play when you’re riding with it and not staying even-keel.”

The Diamondbacks will need more than just Nelson’s contributions if they are going to withstand Burnes’ loss, no matter how long he is out. (Burnes landed on the 15-day injured list this week and is seeking multiple medical opinions on how to proceed.)

Namely, that means better results from veterans Zac Gallen and Eduardo Rodriguez, both of whom have struggled to find consistency this season. Gallen has turned in a handful of dominant performances but owned just a 5.54 ERA entering his start in the series opener in Atlanta.

Fortunately, he found some answers, leading the Diamondbacks to an 8-3 win in the series opener; Rodriguez pitched better early in the year than he did before landing on the injured list, though he is expected to return when the club travels to Cincinnati for a series June 6-8.

“If we get the early version of E-Rod from the first three or four weeks of the season,” Sawdaye said, “and the version of Gallen that we know is out there — I think, you know, Merrill has been Merrill. Nelly (has been good). We’ll be fine.”

Said Lovullo: “I want them to be the best version of themselves without putting too much pressure on themselves. I know (that) Zac — he’d be the first to tell you this — is much better than he’s been pitching and I think he’s frustrated by that.

“He’s very determined. I want them to go out there and be themselves and when they are, they’re going to pick up the slack just fine.”

Diamondbacks at Braves, 4:15 p.m., Cox, Ch. 34

Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (5-2, 3.78) vs. Braves LHP Chris Sale (3-3, 3.06).

At Truist Park: Kelly had a rare off night in his most recent start, giving up six runs (four earned) against the Washington Nationals. He was hurt by a first-inning error by 2B Ketel Marte, then served up a pair of homers in a four-run third inning. … It was the second start in a row in which he gave up four earned runs. Prior to that, he had gone eight consecutive starts allowing three earned runs or fewer. … Kelly threw well against the Braves on April 26, giving up two runs in six innings. … Sale gave up one run in five innings against the Diamondbacks on April 25. That was the beginning of a seven-start run of impressive outings that he takes into this one. Over those seven starts, he has a 1.42 ERA in 44 1/3 innings. … Sale is again eliciting huge whiff numbers out of his slider, getting swings and misses 41.9 percent of the time. He is averaging 94.9 mph with his fastball. … OF Randal Grichuk is 6 for 25 (.240) with two homers off Sale.

Coming up

June 5: At Atlanta, 9:15 a.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (7-4, 5.05) vs. Braves RHP Grant Holmes (3-4, 3.78).

June 6: At Cincinnati, 4:10 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (1-3, 7.05) vs. Reds LHP Nick Lodolo (4-4, 3.10).

June 7: At Cincinnati, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (2-1, 3.43) vs. Reds RHP Nick Martinez (3-6, 3.89).