Ian Kennedy, slated to start Opening Day for the third straight year, made his Cactus League debut Thursday against the Reds in Goodyear. He allowed an unearned run in two innings of work, throwing 34 pitches, 20 for strikes.

“Overall, I felt pretty good,” Kennedy said.

When Kennedy exited, Tyler Skaggs entered and struggled in his second appearance of the spring.

Competing for the fifth starter’s spot, Skaggs did not make it out of the third inning, giving up three runs on three hits and two walks. He also threw a wild pitch and balked.

“Pitched terrible. That’s it,” Skaggs said of his performance.

Charles Brewer has been anything but terrible. He allowed an unearned run in three innings of work. The former Scottsdale Chaparral High School star has yet to be charged with an earned run in five innings, spanning two appearances.

Offensively, Gerardo Parra, batting third, went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI. He’s hitting .417 with 6 RBI. Willie Bloomquist also had three hits to raise his spring average to .538.

The Diamondbacks committed three errors, giving them 11 in seven games.

HE SAID IT

“I like throwing to him,” Kennedy said of teammate Rod Barajas. “I like the way he catches, good target back there. You can tell he’s a veteran catcher. He likes talking about what we like to do, just our approach to how we pitch. I faced him enough. I’m glad that he’s not taking those big swings off me anymore. I like the relationship we have so far.”

COMING UP NEXT

The Diamondbacks begin the month of March with a trip to Hohokam Stadium in Mesa to play the Cubs Friday. Trevor Cahill makes his Cactus League debut. Other pitchers scheduled to throw include Patrick Corbin, David Hernandez, Heath Bell, Garrett Mock, Bo Schultz, Evan Marshall and Tony Sipp.

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