SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Diamondbacks have nearly a dozen pitchers competing for three spots in the starting rotation and 25-year-old Randall Delgado is one of them.

On Wednesday, he gave himself an upper hand.

Starting with the first Los Angeles Angels batter he faced, Erick Aybar, Delgado weaved his way perfectly through an opposing order that his manager held in high regard. He retired all nine hitters he faced over three frames, striking out five, including Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and David Freese in order in his final inning of work.

“Delgado was pretty dominant today,” manager Chip Hale said while laughing with amusement after the game. “Again, facing good hitters and he looked fantastic, so that was really a big step forward for him.”