Geraldo Perdomo and Lourdes Gurriel Homer in D-backs 12-5 Loss to Rockies

Ryne Nelson had a rough first outing but several relievers looked good

On a perfect day at Salt River Fields the Diamondbacks played their first spring training game at home, losing 12-5 to the Colorado Rockies. Rookie starter Ryne Nelson had a rough outing, lasting  1+ innings and giving up four runs on four hits and two walks before being pulled with nobody out in the second inning.

Both Nelson and manager Torey Lovullo mentioned post game that they felt the fastball looked pretty good, both in velocity and location. But they were both dissatisfied with his secondary pitches, which were "loose" according to Lovullo.

The team made a couple of errors, one by Deyvison De Los Santos at third base on a tapper up the line that hit the heel of his glove. He had two hits however and stole base.  There were also some misplays on cutoffs. But Lovullo admitted that they put a lot on the player's plates early in spring and it might take them 7-10 games to work out the kinks. 

Geraldo Perdomo ripped a line drive home run batting right handed onto the left field bern in the 4th inning. Perdomo didn't homer at all last year from the right side, and had just three doubles and a .260 slugging percentage. If that swing was a sign of an improved ability to power up against left hand pitching it will go a long way to solidifying his role with the team. 

Lourdes Gurriel also homered, a pull shot down the line that just cleared the fence onto the bern.  Here is a look at the right handed swing that the Diamondbacks feel is ready to rebound after recovering from a broken hamate bone.

Lourde, Lourde, Lourde 😳@yunitogurriel launches his first home run of the spring. pic.twitter.com/JzyHrQ5MI3

— Reno Aces (@Aces) February 25, 2023

Miguel Castro struck out the side on 16 pitches in the 5th inning, and non roster invitee Jeury's Familia worked a clean inning retiring the side in order on just 11 pitches while striking out one.  Castro topped out over 97MPH and Familiar over 95 MPH. That's the kind of power the D-backs are looking for in their revamped bullpen. Andrew Chafin also worked a scoreless inning despite giving up a leadoff  base hit. 

Ketel Marte looked very sharp today. He ripped a double to the left center field gap and also drew a walk. Lovullo talked after the game about Marte's improved flexibility. He's slimmed down some in the lower body and seems to be moving much better than last year. 

Josh Rojas hit a smash to right that bounced off the top of the wall and just missed being a homer. After the game he had some very interesting comments about the adjustments he is making to the pitch timer, particularly regarding how to avoid being quick pitched. 

Check out the commentary in the link below from Lovullo, Nelson, and Rojas. 

The Diamondbacks play the Padres in Peoria on Sunday at 1:10 P.M.  Tommy Henry will gets the start.