D-backs’ Eaton activated, goes 0-for-4 with costly fielding error

Arizona Diamondbacks’ rookie Adam Eaton was activated from the disabled list on Tuesday, as manager Kirk Gibson first announced on Arizona Sports 620’s Burns and Gambo show.

The 24-year-old later made his 2013 debut with the Diamondbacks, getting the nod in center field and batting leadoff. He went 0-for-4 with a strikeout and a costly fourth-inning error on a routine fly ball to deep center field, which allowed two runs to score in the Diamondbacks’ 6-1 loss to the Dodgers.

Eaton’s inclusion in the Diamondbacks’ lineup was highly anticipated after he recorded a .382 on-base percentage in 22 games with the team last season.

The speedy outfielder has been on the disabled list all season, after suffering an injury to his throwing arm elbow during spring training in March. He was batting .390 in Cactus League play before the injury.

Eaton was viewed as the Diamondbacks’ future leadoff man, largely due to his minor league exploits. In 119 games with Triple-A Reno last season, the left-handed hitting outfielder tallied a .381/ .456/ .539 slash line with 38 stolen bases and 119 runs scored.

Not how we drew that one up. A lot games left! We gotta come back strong tomorrow! #WinTheWest

— Adam Eaton (@AdamSpankyEaton) July 10, 2013