Arizona Diamondbacks: Rough outing for Robbie Ray

Lefty Robbie Ray of the Arizona Diamondbacks did not survive the first inning on Saturday.

Despite praise, accolades, and tributes, challenges persist. Just ask lefty Robbie Ray of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Here’s a player rising to among the elite pitchers in the game, and numbers support that contention. His 15-5 mark last season was a career high, and Ray reached among the NL leaders in ERA and strikeouts. With his star ascending, he is now number two in the Arizona rotation, and only veteran Zack Greinke is listed higher on manager Torey Lovullo’s depth chart.

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After allowing only one hit to the Cincinnati Reds during two innings of work in his initial start of the spring on Feb. 26, Ray seemed to hit the wall Saturday against the Dodgers. Uncharacteristically wild and ineffective, Ray did not survive the first inning and surrendered two homers among the seven batters he faced. Afterward, Ray told Call to the Pen it is the nature of spring training to make sure this kind of outing remains an aberration.

“That’s why it’s spring training and trying to work the kinks out,” he said. “Try and get things right before the season starts. Obviously, you don’t want something like this to happen during the season, so it’s better that it happens now.”

From the commencement of his start against the Dodgers Saturday, Ray drifted on rocky shoals. Of the seven hitters he faced, he managed to retire only one, and that was Yasiel Puig who flied to right. Lead-off hitter Chris Taylor walked but was thrown out by catcher Jeff Mathis attempting to steal second base. Otherwise, all other runners reached base, and that included a two-run homer from Matt Kemp and a bases-empty bomb from catcher Kyle Farmer.

For his effort, Ray threw 36 pitches to those seven hitters and only 16 for strikes. Following his game outing, Ray retired to the bullpen for additional work. That resulted in two batters and following that effort; Ray told Call to the Pen he was able to address issues.

“Went down to the pen, worked some stuff out and felt overall good coming out of that work,” he said. “I want to get a little quicker with my delivery. It’s early and I’m trying to get things clicking on the same track. I was getting too quick with my finish and kind of fallen off. I was leaving everything arm-side, so that was happening.”

Overall, Ray told Call to the Pen the day turned positive, and that the nature of spring games allows for the opportunity to address concerns which do not become malignant during the season.

A new role …

Utility player Chris Owings will have added responsibilities; manager Torey Lovullo told Call to the Pen before Saturday’s game with the Dodgers.

Last season, Owings played short and right field. This time, Lovullo indicated that Owings would spread around the diamond.

“We’ll get him at third and then move him into corner outfield spot,” Lovullo told Call to the Pen. “Then, we’ll see how he feels through all of that. Yes, all three (Ketel Marte, Nick Ahmed and Owings) are competing for the shortstop position. We told (Owings) along the way that he will continue to maneuver and play all over the field. Last year, we defined two spots, and they were right field and shortstop. This time, there is a little bit of difference. Yes, he will compete at shortstop. If he wins a spot as the starting shortstop, he will continue to play second, third and the outfield. So, there will be five spots instead of two spots.”

On the diamond …

The Diamondbacks could not survive a six-run first inning and fell to the Dodgers 14-6 before a sell-out crowd at Camelback Ranch on Saturday.

Despite homers from Christian Walker and Kevin Cron, the Diamondbacks were unable to mount a comeback. With the 14 L. A. runs and 19 hits, the Arizona pitching staff allowed 29 runs and 39 hits in its last two games.

Next: Greinke skips Rox, opts for B game

On Sunday, Taijuan Walker gets his second start of the spring and will face the Chicago Cubs at Salt River. Lefty Jon Kester gets the nod the North Siders.