Blake Walston Struggles and Rallies vs Mariners

The Diamondbacks defeated the Seattle Mariners 5-4 in Peoria, following a 9th-inning rally from Arizona's minor leaguers.

Young left-hander Blake Walston was given the start. Walston, though not among the  frontrunners, is in the mix of the D-backs' fifth starter battle. Today marked the 22-year-old's third outing of Spring Training. His first action saw a rough 1 2/3 innings of 2-hit, 2-walk, 2-run ball, however he settled into a scoreless pair of innings against the San Diego Padres. The left-hander struggled early in today's matchup, spraying his pitches all around and outside the zone.

Walston allowed back-to-back walks, then back-to-back singles, totaling 2 earned runs to start the first inning, all before finally striking out Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh for the first out. 

The left-hander was then pulled in favor of right-hander Taylor Rashi, who retired the next two batters to limit the damage.

Walston re-entered the game in the second inning, looking significantly better after the 24-pitch first,  retiring the side in order in the second inning. He would go on to pitch 2 1/3 innings after his re-entrance, allowing just two singles, no walks, a strikeout and a double play in his return stretch, all while facing the Mariners' major league lineup.

The left-hander struggled mightily with control, but was able to put together some quality innings with both weak contact and swing-and-miss present. 

Right-hander Luis Frías was solid in relief, pitching 1 2/3 innings, allowing a hit, a walk and an unearned run on an errant Jose Herrera throw while striking out three batters. His slider looked excellent for the most part, tying up Julio Rodríguez for a checked-swing strikeout, and his fastball hit 97 MPH.

Right-hander Slade Cecconi, another long-shot member of the D-backs' fifth starter battle, pitched well over two innings. Despite allowing a hustle of a double to Samad Taylor and a ripped single on a hanging breaking ball to former D-back Ryan Bliss, he looked generally strong, with 2 hits, 1 earned run and four strikeouts in his outing. He was able to generate plenty of swing-and-miss, getting whiffs and chases on both his fastball and breaking pitches. Even if not a legitimate candidate for a starting role, Cecconi's confidence and high-powered stuff could make him an option as a long reliever.

Offensively, Arizona's bats were cold for much of the contest. The D-backs "starters" collected only three hits, no walks and no runs for the duration of Mariners RHP Logan Gilbert's strong, five inning,  7-strikeout start. 

Arizona would not score until the 6th inning. After a couple of singles by Jake McCarthy and Emmanuel Rivera, infielder Jace Peterson capped off a nice 2-for-3 day at the plate with a line-drive RBI single. 

However, in the top of the ninth inning, facing a 4-2 deficit, Arizona's minor-leaguers rallied. Following three walks and a single given up by Mariners right-hander Juan Burgos, the deficit sat at just one run. Staring down two outs, third baseman Tim Tawa finished a 10-pitch at-bat by ripping a go-ahead, 2-run double down the left field line to take the lead 5-4.

Right-hander Dakota Chalmers closed it down, going two hitless innings, with two walks and two strikeouts.

The D-backs will be back in action facing the Oakland A's at Salt River Fields, tomorrow at 1:10 PM.