The Arizona Diamondbacks continue their weekend series against the Boston Red Sox. Saturday’s game starts at a special time, 4:15 p.m., so it can be shown by Fox. Return here for news, updates and more.
Drey Jameson recalled to pitch out of bullpen
The move to demote Pfaadt was expected Saturday came as little surprise, given the combination of his struggles and the Diamondbacks’ need to clear a roster spot for Zach Davies’ return from oblique injury.
Their second roster move on the day was less anticipated. The club optioned Luis Frias to Triple-A and recalled Drey Jameson in his place.
Jameson started the season in the majors as a reliever, then was moved into the rotation after Davies’ injury. He made three starts before being demoted. At the time, he was struggling to command his slider in the zone, enabling hitters to eliminate the pitch. That forced Jameson to rely heavily on his fastball, which hitters teed off on.
In his first appearance in Reno, Jameson threw 62% sliders, forcing himself to reconnect with the pitch.
“It doesn’t feel any different,” Jameson said. “It’s just finding the shape and being able to repeat it over and over and over again. … That’s my goal is to be able to land it for a strike, be able to make it right outside of the zone and swing and miss.”
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Lovullo said that Jameson will pitch out of the bullpen for now, but left the door open for him to return to the rotation if a need arises and if he is able to stay stretched out with longer relief outings. In a sense, it’s similar to Jameson’s role in early April, when the Diamondbacks were hoping he could stay stretched out while also acknowledging the possibility that he would be called into shorter outings that would entrench his role as a reliever for the rest of the season.
The decision to move Jameson to the bullpen also places added responsibility on Tommy Henry, who figured to be the likely option to make way for Davies before Pfaadt struggled. With Jameson’s promotion, Pfaadt is the only depth piece in Triple-A who has started games for the Diamondbacks, although Konnor Pilkington has started for the Guardians before he was traded to Arizona for cash considerations earlier this month.
“(Henry) is commanding more than one pitch and continuing to develop and get a lot of swing and miss,” Lovullo said. “I know the Philly game, I read some of the comments that their manager said, they went outside of the zone and a lot of swing and miss because of that. Well, that’s a credit to Tommy because he’s getting everybody in swing mode.”
—Theo Mackie
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Saturday Diamondbacks-Red Sox pitching matchup
Diamondbacks RHP Zach Davies (0-0, 5.79) vs. Red Sox RHP Garrett Whitlock (1-2, 6.19).
Davies suffered a left oblique strain in just his second start of the year back on April 8 against the Dodgers. After being sidelined for nearly two months, Davies will be activated Saturday. He made a rehab start in Double-A Amarillo on Saturday, throwing 69 pitches in 4 2/3 shutout innings. That workload likely lines Davies up to throw between 80 and 85 pitches against the Red Sox. … Last year, Davies was a steadying force in the back end of the Diamondbacks rotation, pitching to a 4.09 ERA in 27 starts. The Diamondbacks will hope for that impact again from him this year. For the most part, the back of their rotation has been filled out by inconsistent rookies. … Like Davies, Whitlock will make his return from injury on Saturday. He has been out since April 22 with an elbow injury. … Last year, Whitlock had a 3.45 ERA in 31 appearances, nine of which were starts. … Whitlock was a Rule 5 draft selection from the Yankees prior to the 2021 season.
Coming up
Sunday: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (5-3, 2.98) vs. Red Sox RHP Tanner Houck (3-3, 4.99).
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Monday: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks TBA vs. Rockies RHP Karl Kauffmann (0-2, 9.35).
Tuesday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks TBA vs. Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (4-5, 3.86).
Early Diamondbacks-Red Sox reading
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Pitching matchups for Saturday’s Diamondbacks-Red Sox game
Source: Yahoo Sports
