Arizona Diamondbacks pitchers ‘auditioning’ for roles with every appearance

The Arizona Diamondbacks pitching staff has seen better days. Injuries, like the one Archie Bradley suffered, have led to some uncertainty on the mound.

“It’s gonna be a little bit of a revolving door here for a while,” manager Chip Hale said on Burns and Gambo Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “We’re getting Archie back on Saturday. I would hope that eventually we get back the five bench players, position players, so the pitchers are definitely auditioning now.”

Vidal Nuno had his chance to impress the coaches Monday, entering the game in the second inning after starter Josh Collmenter was rocked for nine runs on eight hits.

Nuno pitched well, allowing two runs on seven hits in 6.2 innings. He also struck out eight.

“We knew (Vidal) Nuno was going to have to pitch the rest of the game,” said Hale. “We didn’t feel like down 10-0 we were gonna be able to make a comeback, which is hard to do as a manager, hardest thing is to wave that white flag.”

As the D-backs start to get their pitchers back — Bradley is set to take the mound Saturday and Patrick Corbin is expected to return in early June — the pitching staff will have to do some shuffling.

Subsequently, jobs will be on the line.

“I don’t know if they are aware, but as a major leaguer there is always guys lurking there to take your job,” said Hale. “We’re always looking for guys who can get the job done, then we’re happy.”