Giants tee off on Merrill Kelly

The San Francisco Giants took the field on Friday night to host the Arizona Diamondbacks with a four-game winning streak at stake, and a shot to move above .500 for the first time since August 17.

The first half of the first inning didn’t make you think they’d get there. Alex Cobb struggled, allowing a one-out walk followed by back-to-back singles. He limited the damage to one run, but needed 23 pitches to get there.

It’s not that a 1-0 deficit is insurmountable. It’s just that the guy in the other dugout was Merrill Kelly. The same Kelly who had made five starts against the Giants this year. Here’s how those five went:

6.1 innings, 2 runs

7 innings, 2 runs

8 innings, 0 runs

7 innings, 0 runs

7…