Anderson shines but has nothing to show for it

PHOENIX -- D-backs right-hander Chase Anderson turned in a second straight excellent start Tuesday night, but he wasn't in a celebratory mood after watching his team lose to the Rangers, 7-1, at Chase Field.

Anderson allowed just three hits and one run over seven innings before turning things over to the bullpen with the game tied at 1.

"I felt good out there," he said. "I just wanted to give the team a chance to win the ballgame. I feel like I did my job tonight. I just feel bad that we couldn't get the win."

When the Rangers faced Anderson during the spring, they roughed him up pretty good, because he lacked fastball command.

Tuesday it was a different story. Anderson had very good command on both his two- and four-seamers.

"Fastball command helps you get deep in the game," Anderson said.

The seven innings pitched matched a career high for Anderson, and it came on the heels of a solid outing in San Diego in which he held the Padres to two runs on eight hits in six innings.

"Chase pitched great, did a great job," D-backs manager Chip Hale said. "Kept them off balance and gave us a chance to win. He just threw all his pitches for strikes, kept the ball down."

Anderson is part of a starting staff that seems to be finding its sea legs after a rough first time through the rotation.

Over the past six games, Arizona starters have a 1.93 ERA, and Hale was asked if he is pleased with the way his rotation is throwing.

"You guys ask these questions all the time," he said. "Do I feel good? It's day-to-day, and I don't feel good about anything right now after that game. That just wasn't a very good performance. Chase pitched well. Archie [Bradley] goes tomorrow and pitches well that's good. It's day-to-day. That's how we play this game. I've tried to convince you guys of that. We don't think about what happened yesterday, we don't think about what's going to happen tomorrow -- it's just whatever happens the day of the game."