Arizona Diamondbacks at Cleveland Guardians

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
ARI	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
CLE	0	0	2	0	3	0	0	0	—	5	8	2

Merrill Kelly (8-9, 5.04 ERA) got the ball for the finale trying to complete a series sweep, squaring off with Gavin Williams (11-6, 3.56 ERA) at 1:40 PM ET. Kelly had quietly turned his season around in July, and Arizona had won 4 in a row entering the day, including 2 straight over this same Cleveland club. None of that mattered once Williams took the mound.

Show fees

FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Diamondbacks(59-53)

LWWWW

0

+1.5-133+163o7.5-104

Guardians(57-56)

WLLWL

5

-1.5+133-167u7.5+106

Best BetGuardians -152

Postgame

Williams delivered exactly the kind of start that justified the price, flirting with a perfect game and finishing with 10 strikeouts in a shutout win. The bear case about Arizona's hot streak never got a chance to matter — Kelly and the Diamondbacks bats were shut down completely, and Cleveland cashed as the favorite in blowout fashion.

Pregame

Cleveland's the play here even with the offense scuffling, because Gavin Williams is a legitimate mismatch for a Diamondbacks lineup that's about to see a starter with a 4.86 ERA on the other side. The book has Cleveland as a solid favorite, and Williams' last start — 12 strikeouts over 7 shutout-quality innings in a losing effort — says the stuff is there even if the record isn't.

Williams was in a different gear from the first pitch. He carried a perfect game into the sixth inning before Tim Tawa broke it up with a single, finishing with 10 strikeouts across 5.2 innings of shutout ball. Cleveland backed him with a 2-run double from Chase DeLauter and an RBI single from Kyle Manzardo, and Craig Yogo, freshly acquired in the Bo Naylor deal, made his Guardians debut with a scoreless seventh to lock it down.

Merrill Kelly

(8-10)·5.11 ERA

Jul 27 @ Pirates

ND

5.2IP

0ER

6K

1BB

93P

08/02 Lineup

Gavin Williams

(11-7)·3.74 ERA

Jul 28 @ Reds

L

7.0IP

2ER

12K

1BB

101P

08/02 Lineup

The lineup Kelly faced didn't need much offense behind that kind of pitching. Arizona's rotation is already running thin with Zac Gallen, Michael Soroka and Corbin Burnes all on the injured list, and the bullpen has been picking up the slack without Justin Martinez, A.J. Puk and Andrew Saalfrank. Cleveland, for its part, is dealing with a much shorter injury list, with reliever Shawn Armstrong the lone name of note after returning from a groin issue.

Arizona Diamondbacks

(59-53)

Aug 2L@ Guardians0-5

Aug 1W@ Guardians12-8

Jul 31W@ Guardians4-1

Jul 29W@ Pirates3-0

Jul 28W@ Pirates8-7

Cleveland Guardians

(57-56)

Aug 2Wvs Diamondbacks5-0

Aug 1Lvs Diamondbacks8-12

Jul 31Lvs Diamondbacks1-4

Jul 29W@ Reds6-1

Jul 28L@ Reds0-2

None of that separation showed up in the pricing beforehand, with Cleveland sitting as a clear favorite at home and the total set at a modest number given how hot both offenses had looked over the previous 2 days of this series.

Arizona Diamondbacks

(13)

• 10-Day-ILJordan Lawlar (LF) — Lawlar (hamstring) has resumed all baseball activity and is nearly running at full speed, MLB.com reports.07/25
• 10-Day-ILLourdes Gurriel Jr. (LF) — Gurriel isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against St. Louis.07/18
• 10-Day-ILTommy Troy (LF) — Manager Torey Lovullo said Friday that Troy (shoulder) is expected to remain out for roughly 3-to-4 weeks, Jack Sommers of SI.com reports.07/17
• 15-Day-ILMichael Soroka (SP) — Soroka (glute) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Reno on Tuesday, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM reports.07/31
• 15-Day-ILZac Gallen (SP) — Gallen (elbow) was given permission to begin throwing and has thrown twice this week, MLB.com reports.07/25
• 15-Day-ILDrey Jameson (RP) — The Diamondbacks recalled Jameson from Triple-A Reno on Saturday.07/22
• 60-Day-ILJustin Martinez (RP) — Martinez (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment at Single-A Visalia on Tuesday, MLB.com reports.08/02
• 60-Day-ILA.J. Puk (RP) — Manager Torey Lovullo said Saturday that MRI results on Puk's left shoulder revealed that his shoulder capsule hasn't fully healed, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.07/18
• 60-Day-ILRyne Nelson (SP) — Nelson (elbow) will begin a throwing program Saturday or Sunday, Alex D'Agostino of SI.com reports.07/18
• 60-Day-ILAndrew Saalfrank (RP) — Saalfrank (shoulder) has begun a throwing program, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.07/18
• 60-Day-ILCorbin Burnes (SP) — Burnes (elbow) began a throwing program July 10 and felt good following the session, MLB.com reports.07/13
• 60-Day-ILCristian Mena (RP) — Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters Monday that Mena underwent surgery on his right shoulder and will be sidelined for the rest of the season, Jack Sommers of SI.com reports.06/01
• 60-Day-ILBlake Walston (SP) — Walston (elbow) paused his rehab program earlier in the season, but he was expected to start building back up around the middle of May, MLB.com reports.06/01

Cleveland Guardians

(1)

• 15-Day-ILShawn Armstrong (RP) — The Guardians reinstated Armstrong (groin) from the 15-day injured list Monday.07/25

That's what made Sunday such a whiplash result. Two days earlier these same two teams combined for 20 runs in a 12-8 Arizona win. This time Kelly's command wasn't sharp enough and Arizona's bats went cold at the worst possible moment, managing just 2 hits all afternoon while 2 Cleveland errors did nothing to slow the Guardians down.

It was the kind of Sunday getaway game that flips a series narrative in one afternoon. Arizona still leaves Cleveland having won the first 2 meetings, but the finale belonged entirely to Williams and a Guardians offense that made every opportunity count.

For a Diamondbacks club fighting to stay above .500 with a battered rotation, getting no-hit into the sixth by a division opponent's starter is the kind of loss that stings more than the final score. Cleveland, meanwhile, gets a signature outing from Williams to build on as it tries to climb back over .500 itself.