SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- When D-backs right-hander Merrill Kelly took the mound Thursday, he was filled with excitement.
It was his first outing for Arizona after spending the past four years pitching in Korea.
“I was just trying to take in everything,” Kelly said after the D-backs' 10-7 win over the Indians. “It’s my first game back in the States in a long time, so that was exciting. The first pitch, double off the wall, probably changed things a little bit.”
It was not the best debut for Kelly, who retired only one batter while allowing three runs on three hits and one walk. But results are not all that matters when it comes to Spring Training, and Kelly has been around long enough to understand that.
“I think the biggest positive for today, honestly, is just getting back out there,” Kelly said. “Just playing with, hopefully, the guys that I’ll be playing with this year and getting used to the crowd again, the different noises, the different ball, so I think really all of it was positive today.”
Kelly throws a fastball, cutter and changeup, and while he has used his cutter more the past few seasons in Korea, it’s his changeup that he’s focused on right now.
Don’t jump to conclusions
If the D-backs were to stay in their same rotation, Robbie Ray would start Opening Day over Zack Greinke.
Not so fast, manager Torey Lovullo said.
“I think Zack is obviously throwing the ball extremely well, and comparing last year to this year, I think he’s ahead of where he was,” Lovullo said. “We haven’t yet gotten down to the idea of who is going to be the Opening Day starter. We’re going to probably figure that out as soon as we possibly can.”
Getting some input
Once the D-backs decided to transition Ketel Marte from second base to the center field, the club reached out to the Mariners to see how they did something similar with Dee Gordon last year.
“They wanted to lock [Gordon] down on the infield and get him to the outfield,” Lovullo said. “Once they started to commit to that process, they didn’t really put him back in the infield for back-to-back days. Ketel will go out to the outfield. He’ll spend a lot of time in the outfield, and every once in a while, he’ll pop into the infield, and then go back to the outfield."
Coming soon
Lovullo said that right-hander Archie Bradley should make his Cactus League debut either Sunday or Monday. The team is slow-playing Bradley a bit this spring due to his heavy workload in 2018.
Numerical change
When catcher Alex Avila joined the D-backs last year, he wore No. 5 because his two previous numbers were already taken by Brad Boxberger (No. 31) and Nick Ahmed (13).
This year, Eduardo Escobar asked Avila if he could have No. 5, so Avila gave it to him and took No. 31, which became available when Boxberger was non-tendered in December.
Up next
Right-hander Greg Holland is scheduled to make his D-backs debut in relief Friday, when the D-backs take on the Cubs at Salt River Fields at 1:10 p.m. MST. Holland, who was signed as a free agent last month, is competing with Bradley and Yoshihisa Hirano for the closer’s job. Ray will get the start.