Worth noting

• Ross played four innings in a Minor League game Thursday.

While Ross is eligible to come off the disabled list in time for the April 3 game against the Giants, the D-backs are leaning toward having him play at least a few games for Triple-A Reno on a rehab stint.

"I'm itching to get back, but at the same time you want to be smart about it," Ross said. "Those extra couple of days or two days are probably not a bad thing."

• Wade Miley allowed three runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings Thursday. It was a strange outing for Miley given that his previous one was a regular-season game against the Dodgers in Sydney, Australia.

"Maybe a little bit," Miley said when asked if it was weird to be pitching in a Cactus League game again. "But that that's not an excuse at all. I just wasn't executing pitches. I was leaving fastballs over the middle of the plate, really wasn't getting ahead, so I was leaving them in fastball counts so they were able to sit on things. Just wasn't very good."

• The D-backs have tough decisions to make for their final bullpen spots, which is a good thing because it will leave them with options during the season should they need to plug a hole because of injury.

"I think it's one of our strengths," Gibson said. "I feel confident there's people who are prepared to step up this year. Anybody's in play."