D-backs extend spring streak to six with win against the Royals

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.– The Arizona Diamondbacks notched their sixth Cactus League win in a row, beating the Kansas City Royals 10-3 at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick Saturday.

Taijuan Walker got the start in his third game of the spring and kicked things off with a strong first inning, but he quickly ran into trouble in the second due to some command issues with his fastball.

“I wasn’t out there throwing strikes with the fastball, and you know that’s kind of been my goal of the whole spring is to get ahead and throw strikes with the fastball. And I wasn’t doing that today,” Walker said after the game. “Curveball felt good, slider felt good. Just wasn’t throwing strikes with the fastball, I wasn’t getting ahead.”

After the 1-2-3 first, Walker got into a jam in the second inning by walking two and giving up a pair of RBI singles and a RBI double in the inning. He lasted two innings and allowed three earned runs by way of three hits and two walks.

The D-backs’ offense was productive, lead by Jeff Mathis and Ketel Marte. Mathis went 2-2 with a two-RBI double and scoring a run while Marte went 3-3 with a RBI double of his own. David Peralta also shined brightly on this gloomy day in Scottsdale, going 3-4 with three singles.

Five relievers — Albert Suarez, Matt Koch, T.J. McFarland, Joey Krehbiel and Jake Buchanan — combined on seven innings of shutout ball the rest of the way, allowing just four base hits in the process.

Arizona has now outscored their opponents by a count of 45-18 during this streak, which followed a five-game losing streak for the D-backs that started at the end of February.

Lovullo commented on the win streak and what it means to him after the game. “The wins are nice. We’re aware of that and we keep track of our record, but it’s not the most important thing during the spring.”

“Getting the work in and having guys get quality work in is probably the most important thing right now,” he added. “Just being fundamentally sound and practicing the basic fundamentals of the game is what I’m focused on. I feel like if we do enough right during the course of the game, we’re going to win games.”

BASE HITS

– The D-backs announced that they optioned pitchers Jake Barrett and Jared Miller to the Triple-A Reno Aces. They also reassigned catcher Michael Perez, infielder Kevin Cron, and pitchers Ryan Atkinson, Taylor Clarke, Yuhei Nakaushiro, & Taylor Widener to minor league camp.

– After going 3-4 today, David Peralta is hitting .500 (11-for-22) this spring in eight games.

– Yasmany Tomas hit his fifth double of the spring Saturday. He is now hitting .409 in his eight games played.

– Patrick Corbin will take the mound on Sunday against the Chicago White Sox at Camelback Ranch. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. This will be Corbin’s second start of the spring.

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