SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- With his mind freed to work on what matters, Rockies right-handed relief pitcher Scott Oberg has been turning in his best Spring Training performance.

The strong finish to last season, when he went 8-1 with a 2.45 ERA in 56 appearances, meant Oberg wasn’t pitching for his job this spring. After striking out one and walking one in his appearance in Wednesday night's 8-7 loss to the Royals, Oberg has thrown eight scoreless Cactus League appearances over nine innings, with 10 strikeouts, three hits and three walks.

Barring injury in the final Cactus League games, this will be Oberg’s third straight year on the Opening Day roster. But the previous two years, Oberg, 29, found himself needing tune-ups at Triple-A Albuquerque. Last year, he went down from April 24 to May 28.

But Oberg’s 1.60 ERA in 45 innings from June 1 to season’s end was the lowest of any National League reliever who pitched as many innings, per FanGraphs, and he joined fellow righties Adam Ottavino (now with the Yankees) and Seunghwan Oh as a bridge to closer Wade Davis. Oberg came into camp being counted on, along with Oh, to help protect leads, and the confidence has carried all spring.

“Sometimes in Spring Training, years past, I’ve put too much pressure on myself internally to do certain things,” said Oberg, who earned the win by pitching 1 1/3 innings in the Rockies’ 2-1, 13-inning victory over the Cubs in last year’s NL Wild Card Game. “This year, I’m trying to be specific within what I’m trying to work on, and those bigger question marks are subsiding.”

Oberg’s career took off last year when he dropped his walk rate to a career-best 5.3 percent. His previous best was 9.1 percent in '17.

• Oberg overcomes odds to be a force out of 'pen

Oberg not only dropped his walk rate, but he also brought his fastball and slider to the same release point to deceive hitters. The next step is improving the changeup. Last year, he threw 48.6 percent four-seam fastballs and 37.5 percent sliders. The change, he flipped in 7.6 percent. The pitch gave up a .238 batting average against, and with greater effectiveness, it could rival the four-seamer (.209) and slider (.188).

“I’m continuing working on my changeup, continuing working on my fastball command and getting the slider where I want it,” Oberg said. “As the spring has progressed, I’ve tried to change the approach to mimic what I’m thinking about during the season. I’m starting to lock in.”

Roster moves

The Rockies reassigned right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez and catcher Chris Rabago to Minor League camp.

Don't hold him to it

Third baseman Nolan Arenado went 2-for-3 with a double from the No. 3 batting order position in Tuesday night’s 9-7 loss to the Angels, after batting second all spring. He was back in the three-hole Wednesday night, but manager Bud Black wouldn’t call it any kind of declaration on where he would write Arenado’s name during the regular season.

“It’s fluid. You play 162 games. There isn’t one lineup,” Black said. “We’ve talked to the guys about the potential fluidity of the lineup and the spot they’re in based on why we do a lot of different things.

“[Arenado] has been a model of consistency, wherever he has hit. There are some guys you can look at different parts of the lineup, but no matter where you hit, you’ve got to hit.”

In Wednesday's loss to the Royals, the lineup made an impact in the first two innings. The Rockies sent seven hitters to the plate while scoring one run in the first, while scoring five from nine batters in the second in an inning that featured a two-run Chris Iannetta homer and a solo shot from Daniel Murphy. Arenado homered in the fourth.

“It feels like sustained pressure right now,” Murphy said. “All you can really controls as an individual is trying to win each individual pitch. But if you can start stacking up those individual-pitch wins over and over again, you really put a massive amount of pressure on the opposing pitcher and the opposing defense.”

More offense

Center fielder Ian Desmond doubled during a 3-for-4 night, and has a .314 spring batting average.

Mark Reynolds doubled to left field to open a five-run second against Royals starter Jorge Lopez, which was a sign that he’s in good shape in his quest for a spot off the bench. The Rockies count Reynolds as having seven hits (he had a home run in a back-field game, so it’s one more than the official stats say). Four of them are on fastballs, but the others -- including the double on Wednesday on Lopez’s slider -- have been on offspeed pitches, which shows pitch recognition.

• Reynolds battling for roster spot

Garrett Hampson, who entered the day tied for the Major League lead in Spring Training steals, improved his total to seven.

Up next

The Rockies will be off Thursday but right-hander Jon Gray will pitch in a Minor League game to stay on schedule. In the next Cactus League game, righty Chad Bettis will face the Padres and lefty Eric Lauer at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on Friday at 7:40 p.m. MT.