The Arizona Diamondbacks received strong performances from seven different pitchers against one of MLB’s deepest lineups yesterday 28th of March.
The Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 in spring training at Salt River Fields, allowing only six baserunners on five hits and one walk while striking out eight.
Corbin Martin, the Diamondbacks’ starting pitcher, had a solid 55-pitch outing with 34 strikes in 2.2 innings pitched, with one full count in each frame adding to the right-pitch hander’s count.
Torey Lovullo, manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, said after the game that Corbin was effective but had some extended innings. He mentioned that during one extended inning, they had to cut his pitch count a little short, but he liked the carry on his fastball and the secondary stuff he could land. It was a successful outing for him.
Martin struck out two of the 11 batters he faced, allowing only three baserunners on two hits and one walk. However, Martin’s second earned run came with Arizona’s Keynan Middleton on the mound after Martin was pulled with Dodgers’ Austin Barnes on third base.
Martin stated that he was in good spirits. He felt like he was always where he wanted to be. It was a tough lineup, and they’re going to battle and wear you down, he added. He also stated that he believed that is what they had done to him. He felt like he did a much better job of attacking them when he needed to and getting outs when he needed to this year than he had in previous years.
Martin also faced Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman of the Los Angeles Dodgers twice, going 0-for-3. (Their only outing against the Diamondbacks starter was a walk by Freeman.)
The bullpen, which included Middleton, Joe Mantiply, Ian Kennedy, Noe Ramirez, J.B. Wendelken, and Dre Jameson, pitched the final 6.1 game innings. The six pitchers combined to strike out six batters while allowing only one run on three hits. One of the hits came off Jameson, who struck out three Dodgers in two innings and saw his fastball hit 100 mph on multiple occasions.
The D-backs scored all five of their runs in the seventh inning on offense. David Peralta tied the game with a two-run homer to deep center field, which was followed by an onslaught of RBI hits from Cooper Hummel, Seth Beer, and Geraldo Perdomo.
However, Arizona’s ability to break the game open came only after Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw was removed, as the lefty appeared to be in midseason form already, requiring only 40 pitches (29 strikes) over four work innings. Kershaw retired 11 straight Diamondbacks after allowing a leadoff double to Carson Kelly, striking out three and facing the minimum 12 batters.
UPDATE ON NICK AHMED
According to Lovullo, Nick was examined, had some imaging, and has some right shoulder inflammation. Furthermore, I am in the process of seeking a second opinion. Lovullo stated that he does not want to set a timeline because he does not know what will happen.
