Arizona Diamondbacks 4, Kansas City Royals 1: Ray of sunshine

Spring record: 6-5. Change on 2016: -1.5.

The Diamondbacks picked up their fourth spring win in five attempts, and second in a row by a 4-1 margin, with another solid pitching performance in Surprise this afternoon. Robbie Ray got his spring back on track with three shutout innings. Most important was the better control Ray showed this afternoon; after walking three in his preseason debut, that figure was reduced to zero here. He did scatter three hits, although nobody got past first base, and struck out only one. But Ray was helped by some aggressive at-bats and a double-play, getting through his three frames in 39 pitches.

The control continued the rest of the way, with the D-backs’ pitching staff posting a walk-free afternoon, while recording seven K’s. Best of the bullpen arms was Randall Delgado, who struck out the side in the fourth inning, and was followed by zeroes from Andrew Chafin, Jorge De La Rosa and J.J. Hoover. All of the relievers mentioned have yet to allow a run this spring. Matt Koch made his first appearance of the year, and did lose the shutout, giving Kansas City a run on two hits, before Erik Davis closed out the win with a scoreless ninth.

The offense had the same number of hits as the Royals, seven, and didn’t manage any for extra-bases. But they did pick up five walks. David Peralta led the offense, delivering a pair of RBI singles, in the fourth and sixth innings. They came around a run-scoring double-play in the fourth hit into by Yasmany Tomas, who is still looking for his first hit or walk of spring, in 18 PA. A wild pitch later in the sixth completed the D-backs scoring for the day. Chris Owings also picked up a pair of knocks, as did Jeff Mathis; Jack Reinheimer stole a base, but Domingo Leyba was caught stealing.

Tomorrow, it’s back to Salt River Fields for a game against the Oakland Athletics, in which Shelby Miller is scheduled to start.