The Diamondbacks have been giving Kelly pickles in an effort to combat the hamstring cramping issues that have plagued him in recent weeks and it seemed to work on Wednesday afternoon as he was able to work into the seventh inning for the first time in eight starts this season. He finished with six strikeouts and didn’t hand out a free pass. He carried a shutout into the sixth inning before serving up a solo shot to Juan Soto and was charged with two additional runs in the ensuing frame before departing. He’ll bring a respectable 4.09 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 33/12 K/BB ratio across 44 innings (eight starts) into a road tilt on Monday against the Giants at Oracle Park.

Kelly expressed frustration late Friday as he continues to deal with ongoing right hamstring cramps, which led to his early exit from Friday’s outing against the Phillies after just 60 pitches over five innings of one-run ball. The 36-year-old veteran has dealt with the issue for the past few seasons and has tried a variety of options to resolve the recurring problem, which last cropped up during his April 20 start against the Cubs. He’s expected to make his next start on Wednesday against the Mets.

He started warming up for the sixth before calling it a day. This appeared to be latest in a string of cramping issues that have occasional cut shorts start for Kelly. If that’s the case, he should be fine to make his next start against the Mets.