Spruill not worried about pitching on nine days' rest

PHOENIX -- When Zeke Spruill takes the mound Sunday to start the D-backs' series finale vs. the Mets, it'll be the first time he has pitched since Aug. 1, a span of nine days. For a guy used to working every five days in the Minors before he was promoted to the Majors, that week and a half hiatus is by far the longest the right-hander has gone without appearing in a game this season.

Spruill is adamant, though, that the long layoff won't be an issue Sunday. In fact, he's grateful for the extra rest, giving him an opportunity to work on some things he wanted to fix from his last outing, when he surrendered five runs on seven hits over four innings in his Major League starting debut against Texas.

"I'll be fine, really," he said. "I'm just worried about getting into better pitcher's counts, not falling behind. I want to throw my breaking ball and changeup a lot more consistently in the strike zone, too."

The 23-year-old added that since he will likely be batterymates again with his catcher from Triple-A Reno, Tuffy Gosewisch, that aspect will help him settle in as well.

"It's a lot easier, you're not worried that he doesn't know what my tendencies are or how I like to throw to certain types of hitters," Spruill said. "And I know he knows how to read hitters with my stuff. He knows what to do, and I don't have to do much thinking on the mound. He's got it all pretty much under control."