Diamondbacks fans will be relieved with Corbin Carroll’s performance in return

The Arizona Diamondbacks dropped both their split-squad games, losing to the Cincinnati Reds 9-8 and the Athletics 4-2. One game involved poor pitching and the other was a lack of hitting. Despite the two losses, there are a few takeaways from this game, both good and bad.

Corbin Carroll picks up right where he left off in return to the lineup

Corbin Carroll returned to the lineup and picked up right where he left off. The Diamondbacks right fielder collected two hits on the day and started a fifth-inning rally that led to Eugenio Suarez hitting a grand slam to cut the deficit to one run.

Seeing Carroll in the lineup and productive is huge for Arizona, as he is the second-best player on the team and their most important bat behind Ketel Marte. He left the game on March 1 with lower back tightness and had been out of action for a week. He was set to return to the lineup on Friday but the game was cancelled due to rain.

Arizona's pitching falters against the Reds

The simple explanation why the Diamondbacks lost to the Reds was too many baserunners. Arizona pitchers walked nine hitters, affording extra opportunities for Cincinnati to score. Many pitchers threw more balls than strikes, something that will have to be corrected.

The game started off well for Zac Gallen, who struck out two in a perfect first inning, but he and the rest of the pitching staff turned in a poor game from the second inning onward. Gallen did not complete the second inning, as the Reds loaded the bases with two outs and the pitch count was at 42 at the time. The third inning, he retired one of two batters before giving way to Conor Grammes, who completed both the second and third inning. He finished with 52 pitches and only 24 strikes.

Jordan Montgomery entered in the fourth inning and his spring debut was nothing short of an unmitigated disaster. He struggled to throw strikes, with only 11 of them on 28 pitches. He retired just one of the six hitters he faced as he walked two, hit a batter, and surrendered a home run. All five of his baserunners came around to score.

Montgomery discussed his outing to reporters, with video provided by Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports.

Another pitcher who struggled was Justin Martinez, who took the loss against the Reds. The Diamondbacks' closer hopeful lost his control in the sixth inning, as he walked two and hit a batter while recording just one out. Like Montgomery, throwing strikes was a challenge as he only had 10 out of 25 pitches. With how close the closer race is between him, Kevin Ginkel, and A.J. Puk, it was certainly a disappointing showing from the young flamethrower.

One positive pitching performance to take note of was Shelby Miller in the eighth inning. Miller retired the side in order with a strikeout, showing good fastball and slider command. He was the only pitcher besides Gallen to post a clean frame. Eight of his 10 pitches were strikes.

Diamondbacks outfield prospects flex their muscles

Ryan Waldschmidt and Jack Hurley went yard in their respective games. Waldschmidt homered against the A's in the eighth inning, crushing a ball 109 MPH to the left of straightaway center that cut the deficit to two runs. Hurley had an even more impressive power flex, turning around a 97 MPH from Luis Mey and hitting a 405 foot drive past the Diamondbacks bullpen that put them within one run in the ninth.

The Diamondbacks will do another split-squad game on Sunday. One squad will host the Texas Rangers at Salt River Fields and the other will remain in Las Vegas to take on the Athletics again. First pitch for both games are set for 1:05 and 1:10 P.M. MST respectively. The game against the Athletics will be televised while the one against the Rangers will be radio only.