“I’m proud of these guys,” Lovullo said.
“You’re always looking for that stopper, the guy in that rotation that’s going to go out and execute the plan, and it’s landed on Merrill a couple of times and we’re not surprised,” Lovullo said.
The Padres have been bringing Lamet along slowly after he missed his final regular-season start of 2020 with an elbow issue.
San Diego had runners on first and third with one out in the second before Kelly got the final two outs.