Arizona Diamondbacks at Baltimore Orioles

Merrill Kelly worked into a little trouble, worked out of it, let his teammates pick him up, and then gave them a chance to win. Or as his manager called it, “Merrill being Merrill and doing Merrill things.” In a season debut delayed by a couple of weeks because of a left intercostal nerve issue, the 37-year-old Kelly allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings in a 4-3 victory over the Orioles on Tuesday night. “I didn’t feel the sharpest, probably just getting my feet underneath me in the speed of a big league game,” said Kelly, who allowed five hits and walked four, including one with the bases loaded to force across Baltimore’s second run. “There’s nothing that can really replicate the speed and intensity of a big league game,” Kelly continued. “But glad we got the first one out of the way.” Ildemaro Vargas hit a three-run, go-ahead homer in the fifth off Trevor Rogers (2-1), catcher James McCann had two hits and two crucial throws, and the Diamondbacks evened the final series of their nine-game East Coast trip. Jose Fernandez completed Arizona’s four-run fifth with an RBI double off the center-field wall, scoring Geraldo Perdomo after his third hit of the night. Taylor Clarke recorded five outs in middle relief. Juan Morillo yielded a run in the eighth before Ryan Thompson retired Jeremiah Jackson, Monday’s Orioles hero, with the bases loaded to end the frame. Paul Sewald pitched the ninth for his sixth save as Arizona (10-8) improved to 5-3 on its joint-longest trip of the season. That guarantees they’ll return to Chase Field above .500 following Wednesday’s rubber game. The Diamondbacks also improved to 6-4 in one-run games.