Diamondbacks Bullpen Takes Shape in Win Against Mariners

Much of the Diamondbacks expected bullpen got their work in against the Mariners in Peoria.

The Diamondbacks had a chance to evaluate their bullpen in a 4-1 win against the Seattle Mariners, who were fielding a split-squad lineup that included Teoscar Hernandez, Jarred Kelenic, and a bunch of minor leaguers. 

Ryan Hendrix, Andrew Chafin, Scott McGough, Kevin Ginkel each threw a scoreless inning, combining for eight strikeouts and allowed just one baserunner, a two-out walk by Chafin in the fifth. Hendrix and Ginkel both struck out the side in their respective inning. 

Hendrix in particular could be an interesting name to throw into the bullpen mix. The 28-year-old right-hander is a former fifth round selection in the 2016 MLB Draft out of Texas A&M. In 45 career appearances Hendrix owns a 5.85 ERA and a 24.4% strikeout rate in Cincinnati. He was picked up as a minor league free agent after refusing an outright assignment to Triple-A.

He struggled early this spring, allowing runs in three of his first four appearances, but bounced back for five straight scoreless appearances in which he's struck out 10 and allowed no walks in 4.2 innings. D-backs manager Torey Lovullo named Hendrix as one of the pitchers who left a strong impression on him back in February.

The D-backs had trouble figuring out Ray early, as the former Diamondback set down 12 of the first 13 batters faced. Arizona would scratch a run on the board in the fifth, when Phillip Evans doubled off the left field wall to lead off the inning, advanced to third on Geraldo Perdomo's attempt to bunt for a hit, then scored on a Jose Herrera RBI single. 

Arizona tacked on three more runs in the seventh against Paul Sewald. Tim Tawa greeted Sewald with a home run to left to double the D-backs' lead. After a couple quick outs, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. doubled to end Sewald's day. Emmanuel Rivera faced Luis Curvelo, a right-hander who pitched with Seattle's High-A affiliate in 2022, and launched a two-run homer.

Jesse Biddle and Justin Martinez pitched the final two innings. Both pitchers allowed a single, walked a batter, and struck out two, with Martinez giving up a run with two outs in the ninth inning.