Tommy Henry Looks to Win Final Rotation Spot vs. Royals

With Opening Day in Los Angeles just 11 days away, the Diamondbacks will soon need to make a decision on who will be their No. 5 starter in their Opening Day rotation.

Left-hander Tommy Henry had a slow start in Cactus League play, allowing seven runs in his first two appearances, but has thrown the ball very well in his last two appearances. In his last appearance, against the San Francisco Giants, Henry was in the midst of another solid start before throwing a mistake pitch to J.D. Davis that ultimately overshadowed the effort.

In four outings, three starts, he has a strikeout rate of 28.3% vs. a walk rate of 11.3%. Of the 13 "up-downs" he's gotten this spring, Henry has completed a scoreless inning in eight of them (62%). Of the four pitchers vying for the final rotation spot, he ranks second in strikeout rate, third in walk rate, and third in scoreless inning rate.

Henry will likely need a solid outing against a Royals split-squad lineup that doesn't feature much of their projected Opening Day lineup. All nine starters in Kansas City's lineup are right-handed.

Fans in attendance will also get the treat of watching former Diamondback Zack Greinke pitch for the Royals. The ever entertaining future Hall of Famer signed a one year deal to pitch at least one more season.

Lineups

Ketel Marte has returned from the World Baseball Classic after the Dominican Republic was eliminated in pool play, and is back in the D-backs lineup. Nick Ahmed continues to build up strength and is starting for the second game in a row. Although he was already optioned to Triple-A Reno, keep your eye on Dominic Canzone. The lefty power hitter has been having a good spring. Jake McCarthy has been out for several day with an illness that Torey Lovullo previously described as "Flu like Symptoms"

Today's game, which starts at 1:10 P.M. is not televised, but is available on 98.7 F.M. Radio. After today the D-backs have just three more home spring training games remaining at Salt River Fields. They face the Angels on Tuesday, The Dodgers in a split squad game on Thursday, and the Reds on Friday. They are on the road for their other Cactus League games this week. Full schedule HERE