MILWAUKEE -- Merrill Kelly was happy that his team got a win that moved them one step closer to locking up a postseason berth and the D-backs right-hander was pleased with how he pitched through five innings Saturday night.

The 5-0 win at American Family Field was the fourth in a row for the D-backs, who have won the first three game of this four-game set, which wraps up Sunday afternoon. Arizona remained a game ahead of the Mets for the second NL Wild Card spot.

But it wasn't all sunshine and smiles for Kelly, who was frustrated that for the second time in three starts he was forced to leave the game due to cramping issues, this time involving his right calf.

Two starts ago on Sept. 11 against the Rangers, Kelly had to leave the game in the top of the fifth inning with a cramp in his right hamstring. Last time out against the Rockies in Denver, Kelly threw six innings and did not have any issues.

That seemed to put the cramping issue to rest, but it cropped up again Saturday.

Kelly felt the beginnings of a cramp in the calf and after he got through the fifth, he let manager Torey Lovullo know about the situation in case it got worse in the sixth.

As he completed his warm-up tosses in the sixth, something clearly was not right and catcher Jose Herrera -- who hit his first MLB homer in the fifth inning -- walked out to the mound and motioned for a D-backs trainer to come out.

Lovullo said it ultimately was his decision to remove Kelly from the game.

"He actually was trying to push to stay in it," Lovullo said. "We had plenty of coverage in the bullpen, and I just know how Merrill's wired. You know, he's trying to do it for his teammates first, and he knew that perhaps we were a little thin in the bullpen.

"And once I told him that we're fine and I don't want to risk this -- because if we're going to get where we want to go, he's got a lot more baseball to play -- he reluctantly came off the mound. But he did his job."

Kelly pitched well once again, allowing just two hits while striking out six and not walking a batter over five innings.

That is what made having to leave the game even more frustrating for him, because after missing almost four months due to a shoulder issue, Saturday night was the best he felt since coming back.

"[Kelly] mowed through us pretty easily," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "It¡¯s tough to hit. And when a guy¡¯s pitching on the edges who¡¯s experienced, that¡¯s the way it is."

Kelly had cramping issues last season and was forced to leave three games because of it. But the problem went away down the stretch and he did not experience any issues during Arizona's run to the World Series.

Whatever program was working then doesn't seem to be working now, and the D-backs will go back to the drawing board to try and figure it out.

"I don't think I could be any possibly more hydrated than I am going into the games," Kelly said. "We're going to hopefully get some other inputs. I don't know what that looks like right now. Obviously, we've had a bunch of talks with our training staff, but what we've been doing right now may not be working.

"I don't think there's really a cramp specialist out there. I don't think that somebody really operates that way, but it's definitely gotten to the point for me where I want to talk to whoever I can to try to figure out what's going on."