The fifth starter competition has been the Diamondbacks' biggest story line this spring. Once again, another candidate in the competition excelled in his first audition, as RHP Slade Cecconi struck out four in two scoreless innings in a 5-0 win over the Chicago White Sox at Salt River Fields.
Cecconi showcased a more impressive arsenal, commanding a full four-pitch mix that befuddled the White Sox hitters. Each of his four main pitches recorded at least one whiff, but it was the curveball and the changeup that shined today. The two pitches accounted for four of his six total whiffs.
It was an very encouraging sight for manager Torey Lovullo.
"I get really fired up when we ask these kids to, through the course of an offseason, go back home and improve on things and they come in here and their first outing has signs that they've worked on those things and they've come in here ready to execute. We're watching a lot of that taking place here."
Lovullo noted that Cecconi did a good job of following the glove, especially in the first inning where he struck out Nicky Lopez, Rafael Ortega and Andrew Vaughn in order.
That ultimately set the tone for how this game would go for the D-backs, as they took a no-hit bid into the ninth inning. There was a ground ball in the 8th inning that Andres Chaparro mishandled, originally ruled an error but then reversed to a hit after a clean single by Oscar Colas an inning later.
For the third day in a row, infield prospect Blaze Alexander continued to turn heads. His impact was all over the game, as he started a double steal that led to a run scoring on the play, made a terrific leaping catch that robbed Lenyn Sosa of a hit in the 6th, and ripped a 108.6 MPH single in the 7th inning.
"He's doing it on both sides of the ball" said Lovullo. "He's making defensive plays, baserunning, made a key baserunning move today, and is driving the ball. I think he's trying not to do too much, he's staying through the baseball, following the game plan. He's not just hitting fastballs out over, he's doing a good job of being in a good position to make the decision on where that ball is going to be and he's striking it."
Zac Gallen threw a live BP session today. Lovullo said Gallen looked really good, was able to drive his pitches into the zone, and showed quality secondary stuff. Kyle Nelson and Paul Sewald also threw live BP, but there were no reports on how they went.
The D-backs will travel to Hohokam Stadium in Mesa tomorrow to play the Oakland Athletics. Left-hander Blake Walston will take the mound for Arizona, with pitching prospects Yu-Min Lin and Christian Mena scheduled to pitch in the game as well. First pitch will be at 1:05 P.M. MST.
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