PHOENIX (AP) — Christian Walker hit a two-run homer, Merrill Kelly pitched seven stellar innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-0 on Thursday night.
Walker hammered his 31st homer to deep left in the first inning off Milwaukee's Brandon Woodruff, giving the D-backs a 2-0 lead. Geraldo Perdomo's RBI single in the third pushed the advantage to 3-0 and Josh Rojas smashed a two-run double high off the center field wall in the fifth to make it 5-0.
All five runs came with two outs and Rojas' double chased Woodruff (9-4) from the game. The right-hander gave up five earned runs on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out four.
While Arizona's offense was methodical, Kelly (12-5) was dominant. The right-hander flashed the form that made him NL Pitcher of the Month in July, giving up only four hits and no walks while striking out seven. Caleb Smith closed the game with two scoreless innings of relief.
The D-backs have won six of their last seven, pushing to 62-68 for the season. They're 22-16 since the All-Star break.
Milwaukee slipped to 69-61 and fell to 6 1/2 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the top of the NL Central. Jace Peterson led the Brewers with two hits.
YELICH OUT
Milwaukee's Christian Yelich left the game after the third inning because of what the team called neck discomfort. He was replaced by Tyrone Taylor.
MAKING MOVES
Brewers: OF Esteury Ruiz and RHP Luis Perdomo were promoted from Triple-A Nashville.
Diamondbacks: The D-backs promoted INF Wilmer Difo from Triple-A Reno and also reinstated LHP Kyle Nelson (lower back spasms) and RHP Keynan Middleton (strained right ankle) from the 15-day injured list. RHP Noe Ramirez was designated for assignment.
UP NEXT
The teams play again on Friday. The D-backs send RHP Zach Davies (2-4, 3.82 ERA) to the mound while the Brewers will counter with LHP Eric Lauer (10-5, 3.58). Davies played five season for the Brewers from 2015-19.
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