D-backs Preview #3: 4/3 @ Padres

Well, at least we don’t have to worry about Eric Hosmer, who has been a bit of a one-man wrecking crew over the first two games - as in, 6-for-7 with six RBI. At least we’ve done a good job of restraining Fernando Tatis and Manny Machado, who have combined to go 2-for-15 this series. The former is 1-for-8 with five strikeouts; small sample size, but might all that MVP talk perhaps have been just slightly premature? #Overrated. On the Arizona side, we may have called up Gerardo Perdomo, but he isn’t starting. There are some changes, with Josh VanMeter getting his first start, while Asdrubal Cabreta gets a breather. Pavin Smith is back in right, which should help avoid near-collisions with Ketel Marte...

Gerardo Perdomo arrives

He said he was really surprised and even admitted to crying a little bit on getting the news he was being called up. He had been playing at the alternate site and got a call from farm director Josh Barfield, who told Geraldo, “I’m sorry, you’re not playing the Angels tomorrow”. When he asked why, Perdomo was told “Because you’re going to San Diego.” He has been having a bit of an issue with shoulder tendinitis, which kept him out of action for a week. But he now feels “100%”. Perdomo said Nick Ahmed had helped him a lot with his defense, telling him to focus on the little things which he can control.

Torey Lovullo notes

• Torey showed up in a UCLA shirt, and joked that if he got tossed in the second inning of the game tonight, it’d be so he could watch them in the Final Four tonight.
• Putting Nick Ahmed on the IL was “the best decision we could make for Nick”. Ahmed was “doing an unbelievable job of working hard”, but it made a lot of sense to take the hustle out of this and take him off his feet. The medical team feels very strongly once he gets past it, he won’t have to worry about it for the rest of the year.
• He described Gerardo Perdomo as “super talented”, but said he was still growing and learning as a hitter every single day. Rojas will still be the primary shortstop, and has been “playing the sort of defense we expected,” but Perdomo is “here to play.”
• Zac Gallen threw 64 pitches and felt good, it went exactly the way he wanted it to. The next thought is to introduce an all-pitch bullpen, probably on Monday. This implies the 64 pitches probably did not include curveballs, which were where he could feel the hairline fracture previously. Kole Calhoun had “live” at-bats at the alternate training site, and seems to be progressing as expected. No update as to any return date was provided.