Diamondbacks’ young prospects have Torey Lovullo looking at ‘very bright future’

PHOENIX — It’s hard to get excited about results in the penultimate game of spring training when Opening Day is on the horizon.

But when highly-touted Arizona Diamondbacks youngsters — some of whom are still rookies at the big league level — come through in clutch moments against one of the game’s best relievers for a 7-6 win, it becomes even more difficult not to look ahead at what the future might hold.

Following six no-hit innings thrown by Cleveland Guardians pitchers, the D-backs waited until the seventh to score four runs thanks to NL Rookie of the Year candidate Corbin Carroll and 19-year-old Deyvison De Los Santos.

After Josh Rojas and Ketel Marte singled to start the frame, Christian Walker drove in Rojas and De Los Santos pinch-ran for his fellow Dominican.

Carroll then hit a two-RBI double in the right field gap that didn’t even reach the warning track, but that didn’t prevent the speedy 22-year-old from cruising in without a throw. Twenty-five-year-old Jake McCarthy easily drove in Carroll the very next at-bat with a line drive through the four hole into right field.

Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase — who had 42 saves last season — came in for the eighth inning with a 6-4 lead, but the right-hander failed to get through the frame.

D-backs 23-year-old shortstop Geraldo Perdomo walked and then De Los Santos drove him in with an RBI double. Clase got the next two hitters out before being replaced, and that’s when Arizona’s No. 2 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 11 overall prospect Jordan Lawlar hit a two-run blast to left field to give the Diamondbacks the lead for good.

“The future looks bright, very bright,” manager Torey Lovullo said postgame. “I was watching Jordan run around the bases and just kind of projecting in my own mind. … What is it going to look like one day? It looks very bright.

“But they got to go play their seasons, keep developing. They’re going to get some great coaching. We know what’s down there. It’s been percolating for a while and several of the young players are going help lead the way with it for us this year at the big league level and there’s more coming and we know it. The future looks really bright, it makes me smile.”

BACK TO THE FUTURE

Flipping back to the immediate future, lefty Madison Bumgarner was solid for the first four innings of his final spring outing before his first start of the season against the Dodgers in Los Angeles this upcoming weekend.

The 33-year-old went 5.0 innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out two over 76 pitches (45 strikes).

“Bum to me was solid,” Lovullo said postgame. “I know you look up there and it’s three or four runs but … he got through the fifth inning, got his pitch count to where we wanted it and all things being equal, I thought he threw the ball well enough for his last spring start.”

Bumgarner didn’t help himself out by throwing a sacrifice bunt into right field, which allowed Cleveland to score three runs but only one earned in the fifth.

“Stuff is starting to come around, command was pretty good for the most part until the last inning obviously,” he said of his performance. “Things kind of got weird that last inning and I don’t know I — I was trying to figure out what happened myself.

“It looked like I got tired. I didn’t necessarily feel that way, but all signs were pointing to that. It would also be hard for me to admit that so have to take that into account. I’m kind of glad — I would rather not still, but I’m glad we got to go through a little bit of adversity in the last game before the season starts too, so it’s not all bad.”

Right-handed reliever Scott McGough come on in the ninth and tossed a one-two-three inning to pick up the save. Lovullo said pregame that the closer position will be “fluid” for the first month of the season, as the skipper won’t commit to any one player with the role yet.

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