Game report: Brewers 5, Diamondbacks 3
PHOENIX -- Among Paul Goldschmidt's strengths as a hitter is his ability to use the whole field, and Friday afternoon he claimed one small square of the right-field corner in a 5-3 loss to Milwaukee.
Goldschmidt drove a double down the right-field line deep and just fair in the first inning before scoring on Mark Trumbo's two-out single to left field, and he lined another double to almost the identical spot in the fourth inning before scoring again on a Yasmany Tomas groundout.
Goldschmidt left after four innings, part of a plan to get him in as many games as possible to maintain his rhythm.
"He wants to be in there almost every day," manager Chip Hale said. "He'd like to get every-day at-bats, whether it is two or three and get out. He knows how to get himself ready. He'll be in there five or six (games in a row), then give him a day."
Trumbo also had two hits to raise his spring batting average to .345. He has 10 hits in 29 at-bats.
Goldschmidt and Trumbo batted three-four in the lineup against Brewers right-hander Jimmy Nelson, although Hale said he would like to get a left-handed hitter between the two in a regular-season game. David Peralta has been that hitter much of the spring.
The first six Milwaukee hitters reached base -- single, single, walk, Tomas fielding error, single, single -- against Trevor Cahill in the first inning, but he limited the damage to three runs after pitching out of a no-out bases loaded situation with a fly out and two strikeouts.
With the bases loaded, Tomas could not cleanly handle a one-hopper hit right at him by Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez, allowing one run to score instead of turning a possible 5-4-3 double play.
"He kept us in the game. His stuff was good, and it got better as he went on," Hale said of Cahill, who experience seems to make him a leading contender to land in the rotation.
"He's done it before," Hale said. "As long as we can trust he is always going to maintain that delivery (a new, higher arm angle)."
Cahill was in and out of trouble in his first three innings but was scored on only in first inning, getting double-play grounders with runners on first and third and one out in the second and third innings.
Cahill hit his pitch count exactly, 75, with a 10-pitch, 1-2-3 fourth inning. Cahill said he got away from his higher arm angle when he got into trouble in the first inning, but he found it again moving forward.
"I noticed I kind of reverted back to the lower arm angle a little bit, but it is one of those things I need to stick with it," Cahill said. "Bases-loaded situations like that, you kind of revert back to what is most comfortable. The more I work on it, the more times out there, I'll feel more comfortable. I felt a lot better after the first."
Tomas' error was his third of the spring, all at third base. He has played six innings in right field this spring. "That's a double-play ball. Should have been made. Just didn't make the play," Hale said. "That's the way it goes. It's a physical mistake, not a mental mistake. In baseball, you are going to have those. He's doing OK. It's so hard, the experience on the job that he is getting." . . . The D-backs optioned Brandon Drury, Socrates Brito and Will Locante to Double-A Mobile on Friday morning. Drury hit .435 with a team-leading nine RBI and three doubles and three homers among his 10 hits. "He impressed us in a lot of ways," Hale said. "He played winning baseball, and that's what we are trying to teach from Day 1. He did all the right things, and learning how to play second base while doing it." Drury spent most of his time at second base this spring but is likely to play mostly third base at Mobile. "I think he'll play a majority of third, but we want him ready at second," Hale said. "If one of those spots comes open by injury or performance problems, he would be a guy that we would look to." . . . Brito hit .222 in 27 at-bats, and left-hander Locante gave up five runs and eight hits in 2 1/3 innings.
Addison Reed threw a live batting practice session Friday and remains on track to make his first spring training appearance in a game on Tuesday.
Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres, Peoria Sports Complex, 1:05 pm
Probable pitchers: Diamondbacks -- RHP Archie Bradley, RHP Randall Delgado, LHP Matt Reynolds, RHP Enrique Burgos, LHP Dan Runzler. Padres -- RHP Brandon Morrow, RHP Odrisamer Despaigne.