Diamondbacks 10, White Sox 2: A farewell to Salt River Fields

Cactus League record: 17-14-2.

The Diamondbacks got on the board as the result of a Paul Goldschmidt double in the bottom of the first, which scored A.J. Pollock, but really cranked things up with a five-run second that ended White Sox starter Jose Quintana's spring. Arizona sent nine to the plate, including consecutive RBI doubles from Chris Owings, Goldschmidt and Mark Trumbo, with Nick Ahmed and Pollock driving in the other runs. Ahmed had another RBI single in the fifth, and a three-run sixth followed, with Cody Ross, Yasmany Tomas and Tuffy Gosewisch getting those across the plate. Tuffy had four hits, and ends the Cactus League hitting .357 for the spring.

Plenty of other good stuff to go around. Pollock had a pair of hits, and after he was replaced, Ender Inciarte reached twice, on a hit and a walk. Owings, Goldschmidt and Ahmed each had two hits, with the first two both producing a pair of doubles. Ahmed stole a base, and Pollock nailed former team-mate Adam Eaton at home,. to end the first inning. Meanwhile Rubby De La Rosa was finishing the pre-season in fine form, holding a full-strength White Sox lineup to one run over six innings, on four hits and a walk, with four strikeouts. By all accounts, he looked pretty good doing so: now, just keep it up for the next six months, and you'll be fine, Rubby...

The final three innings were pitched by an assortment of relievers. Oliver Perez got one out in the seventh, but Brad Ziegler was charged with a run on three hits and a walk, while getting through the rest of the inning. Enrique Burgos walked one but struck out two in the eighth inning, and Addison Reed allowed a hit and a walk in the ninth, though escaped damage, and Arizona cruised to an easy victory. They finish the Cactus League with a record of 17-14 (and two ties), the first time since 2007 the Diamondbacks have had a winning record. Could that be an omen? We can but hope...