ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Robbie Ray takes first step toward Arizona Diamondbacks starting rotation

Mar 3, 2016, 5:32 PM

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Robbie Ray throws against the Colorado Rockies during the fir...

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Robbie Ray throws against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning of a spring baseball game in Scottsdale, Ariz., Thursday, March 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

(AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Considered the frontrunner to land the fifth spot in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ starting rotation, Robbie Ray did nothing to dispel the notion in his first outing of the spring.

The 24-year-old left-hander tossed two scoreless innings in the D-backs’ Cactus League home opener, a 6-5 loss to the Colorado Rockies in front of 7,295 at Salt River Fields on a sun-drenched Thursday afternoon.

Ray allowed a leadoff double to the first batter he faced and then retired six in a row, including back-to-back strikeouts of Tom Murphy and Brandon Barnes to end the second inning.

Ray got ahead of both Murphy and Barnes 0-2, before Murphy swung and missed at a changeup and Barnes couldn’t catch up with a 94-mph fastball, the seventh pitch of the at-bat.

“I pounded it in on guys,” said Ray, who finished with three strikeouts. “I was able to mix in my off-speed. The changeup was really good today. I was getting some bad swings on that and also my slider. I think that plays off of fastball command, just going in on guys and letting them know that I’m here.”

Facing one batter over the minimum in his two innings of work, Ray threw 35 pitches, 22 for strikes, six of which were first-pitch strikes, including a 95 mph offering to Carlos Gonzalez in the first.

Three pitches later Gonzalez chased a slider to become Ray’s first strikeout victim.

Ray constantly hit the mid-90s on the radar gun, topping out at 95.

“It’s early in spring, I’m not worried about velocity right now,” he said.

More importantly for Ray, who is battling Archie Bradley and Zack Godley for that final spot in the rotation, is getting ahead and staying ahead of batters. Too many times last season, Ray let hitters off the hook after jumping out to 0-2 or 1-2 counts, which elevated his pitch count and prevented him from going deep into games.

“Don’t let up. You don’t get complacent on the mound,” he said. “It’s attack mode no matter what. I think that’s the main thing is regardless of it’s a strikeout or a ground ball, just get ahead and put them away. That’s the main focus.”

Added manager Chip Hale: “That’s what we’re definitely looking for is commanding both sides of the plate, and he can be very successful.”

Ray made 23 starts for the D-backs in 2015, going 5-12 with a 3.52 ERA, the fourth-best mark ever by a D-backs rookie starting pitcher.

“I had success last year, so obviously I have some confidence from that,” he said. “I just go out every day and pitch like I know how to. You can only control that one pitch and you can’t control the result of it, so you just control what you can control and that’s making a quality pitch; and if a guy hits it, the guy hits it, but if you get him out, great. You can’t control what the other guy is doing.”

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