(Photo credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images)

Struggling Merrill Kelly is coming off his strongest start of the season, and the Arizona Diamondbacks' right-hander will try to build on that against the Colorado Rockies on Friday night in Denver.

In a matchup of veterans, Kelly (2-3, 7.62 ERA) will oppose Colorado left-hander Kyle Freeland (1-4, 6.00), who is trying to get his first win since April 7, in the opener of a three-game weekend series.

Arizona's woes have mirrored Kelly's, who allowed just a run on three hits over seven innings to beat the New York Mets 2-1 last Saturday. That kicked off a three-game winning stretch for the Diamondbacks, who had lost 12 of 16 prior to the surge.

The Diamondbacks have lost two games in a row since but have a chance to beat the bottom two teams in the National League West -- Colorado and San Francisco.

Arizona will play the last-place Rockies seven times and the Giants six times over the next 13 days.

Arizona lost 6-5 on the road to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday.

Leading 5-3 entering the bottom of the ninth inning, the Rangers rallied against reliever Paul Sewald. It was a blip in what otherwise has been a good stretch for Arizona's bullpen. The relievers have a 1.99 ERA since May 1, the lowest mark in the majors during that stretch.

'The bullpen has been very consistent all year long,' Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. 'It's been our carry tool, and very consistent.'

Kelly can get the Diamondbacks off to a good start against a team he has dominated. In 17 career starts vs. Colorado, he is 9-3 with a 3.25 ERA and has more than a 4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Freeland hasn't been as successful against the Diamondacks. In 22 career starts against them, he is 4-9 with a 5.94 ERA.

Like Arizona, the Rockies have been spiraling. They lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2 on Thursday and are 4-11 since winning three in a row in late April. They return to Denver after finishing 2-4 on a road trip through Pennsylvania, losing two of three games to both the Philadelphia Phillies and Pirates.

'Can't wait to get home and start a new homestand,' Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said after the loss on Thursday.

The recent skid has dropped Colorado into a familiar place -- last in the division. The Rockies have finished in the basement four straight seasons and have lost 100 or more games the past three, bottoming out with a 43-119 mark in 2025.

They have played better in 2026 but are on pace to lose 99 games. A reason for optimism, however, is how Mickey Moniak has played. The former No. 1 overall pick by Philadelphia in 2016, Moniak is in his second season with Colorado and leads the team with 12 home runs and 26 RBIs.

He is batting .308 and was a single short of hitting for the cycle in Wednesday's 10-4 win over the Pirates.

'Mickey has been right there with the big swings,' Schaeffer said. 'He just keeps taking big swings for us.'

--Field Level Media