SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- After pitching on an international stage with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, D-backs right-hander Merrill Kelly returned to D-backs camp with an eye on getting himself ready for the regular season.

Kelly made a pair of starts during the WBC. He threw 61 pitches in three innings against Colombia on March 15, and then only 36 in Tuesday’s final against Japan while going just 1 1/3 innings.

“Probably a little bit more behind the ball than I usually am going into the season, as far as just pitch count and, you know, innings and up and downs and stuff like that,” Kelly said. “I mean, the most innings I've thrown so far is three. Obviously, I would have liked to throw a little bit more on Tuesday, but it just didn't work out.”

Kelly has one start scheduled before the regular season, and that will be Sunday against the Brewers in Maryvale. That is five days since his WBC outing and would be five days before his expected regular-season debut.

Manager Torey Lovullo said the D-backs would like to get Kelly stretched out to 65 pitches in his final spring start, which would make it realistic for him to throw around 85 in his first regular-season turn, which is likely the second game of the season.

“Once the lights turn on, once we get to L.A., it's going to be business as usual,” Kelly said. “I'm going to take the ball as long as Torey’s going to give it to me. I'm sure they'll have a certain plan for me. The first couple starts, I would imagine I’ll probably be on a on somewhat of a short leash. But I'm just going to make the pitches, and then hopefully I can go as long as they let me go.”

While Kelly might not be as stretched out as a result of participating, the WBC did give him an opportunity to pitch in pressure situations in front of sold-out crowds with the stakes high.

In some ways, that will make him more ready than some when it comes to pitching at Dodger Stadium in the opening series. 

“I'm very grateful and very fortunate that I was able to participate in it,” Kelly said. “I think there's a lot of guys out there if they would have committed to it then I probably wouldn't have gotten the opportunity. I definitely recognize that, and I don't take that for granted. It was an experience that I've never been a part of and maybe never get to experience again, but I'm forever grateful and honored that I was able to experience it.”

Down to the wire
The battle for the fifth spot in the D-backs’ rotation is down to Drey Jameson and Ryne Nelson, and both started Thursday in split-squad games. 

Jameson allowed three runs in the first to the Dodgers, but he settled in and allowed just one more while going 4 1/3 innings in an 11-5 victory. The right-hander’s slider was especially sharp as he got eight swing and misses on it, recording seven strikeouts.

Nelson allowed three runs on four hits while striking out three over 4 2/3 innings of an 11-1 loss to the Cubs in Mesa.

It’s a battle that appears destined to go down to the wire.

“We want to take as much time as we can to evaluate them, and it's a very tough decision,” Lovullo said. “And we just want to be as thorough as we possibly can. So we'll wait it out as long as we can and make the best decision moving forward for this team.”

Tidbits
• Second baseman Ketel Marte reported to the complex on Thursday, but he was feeling under the weather and was scratched from the lineup and sent home.

• Outfielder Jake McCarthy, who had been out for five days due to illness, returned to the clubhouse on Thursday.

“He was fighting to get in the lineup today,” Lovullo said. “But we decided that it would be best to have him just get his feet under him today and play in a game tomorrow.”