Diamondbacks vs. Royals Pregame — Tommy Henry vs. Brad Keller

Royals taking batting practice before facing the Diamondbacks
Photo by Evan Thompson/Sport Relay

Diamondbacks vs. Royals Pregame — April 24, 2023

PHOENIX — It’s Game One of a three-game set between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Kansas City Royals, which is also the fifth game of a seven-game homestand for the Diamondbacks. Prior to the game, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo and Royals manager Matt Quatraro met (separately) with the media on hand.

Torey Lovullo, Diamondbacks Manager

The Diamondbacks optioned Drey Jameson to Triple-A Reno to make room on the active roster for Tommy Henry, tonight’s starting pitcher. Lovullo said it was “something that we talked about last night postgame. It was the lack of fastball consistency (and) his inability to command secondary stuff. We felt like he was becoming one-dimensional out over the plate. And we needed to get back into that form that we saw last year and have seen in spurts this year.” He added that Jameson needs to “go prepare to get dominant.”

Lovullo said that moving him from relief to the rotation did not have anything to do with Jameson’s struggles. He added that Jameson agreed with that assessment last night. In addition, Jameson will remain as a starter both in Reno and when he comes back up.

Henry is not here as a stopgap maneuver or a temporary fix. “He’s here to pitch and help us win games,” Lovullo said.

Josh Rojas is not in the lineup tonight due to a scheduled day off.

Injury Updates

Christian Walker will be available to pinch-hit and is “very close” to a full return.

Carson Kelly will “resume some baseball” and have “a little more baseball activity” this week.

Kyle Lewis is also increasing his baseball activity.

Zach Davies is throwing at 60 feet now, “which is a good sign,” but there is still no timeframe on his return.

Matt Quatraro, Royals Manager

Right fielder MJ Melendez is still out with lower back spasms. He will return when they subside, probably in a few days.

With the new “balanced schedule,” preparation for an interleague opponent will be tough in this, the first year. What also makes the Diamondbacks tough, according to Quatraro, is that they use the whole roster. “There’s a lot of prep that goes into it to see how they’re going to use the guys. What kind of game they’re playing, what the pitchers do, and how they’re going to attack us. There’s a lot of work that goes into it.”

On the flip side, only one current Diamondback has faced Royals starter Brad Keller. Quatraro chuckled and said “I hope so” when asked if that might balance things out. He went on to say, “We’re very comfortable with Brad on the mound, whether they’ve faced him or not, but they have a good lineup. They’re gonna present a lot of challenges for our whole staff.”

 

Main Photo Credits:

PHOENIX, Apr. 24 — The Kansas City Royals take batting practice before facing the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. (Photo by Evan Thompson/Sport Relay)

Share "Diamondbacks vs. Royals Pregame — Tommy Henry vs. Brad Keller" on social media:
More Arizona Diamondbacks News
Evan M. Thompson, Editor-in-chief

Evan M. Thompson, Editor-in-chief

Evan is the owner and sole contributor of Thompson Talks, a website discussing the Big Four North American Pro Sports as well as soccer. He also is a credentialed member of the Colorado Rockies press corps. His first and biggest love is baseball.

Evan lives in Gilbert, Arizona and loves history, especially of sports. He is the treasurer for the Hemond Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and also is a USSF and AIA soccer referee. He released his first book, Volume I of A Complete History of the Major League Baseball Playoffs, in October of 2021.

Order Evan's book at store.bookbaby.com
Follow Evan on Twitter: @evan_m_thompson
Support Evan on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=81411994

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *