Diamondbacks' Shelby Miller goes 2 IP in spring debut

Rockies 8, Diamondbacks 4

On the mound: RHP Shelby Miller tossed a scoreless first inning, and despite giving up a pair of runs in the second, he came away feeling good about the way he threw. “At this time last year, I was battling my mechanics pretty hard,” he said. “I wasn’t as aggressive as I wanted to be with my pitches. Today I felt like I threw a lot of strikes. I got ahead early in a lot of counts, which set us up for some strikeouts and some softer balls put in play. Right now, mechanically and pitch-wise, I’m real comfortable and confident with what I’ve got going.” Miller’s fastball was in the mid-90s on Saturday. RHP Archie Bradley followed him but struggled, allowing five runs on five hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. “It’s the first outing of the spring; you don’t want to put too much into it, either way,” Bradley said. “Giving up runs, giving up hits is not something you like doing. At the same time, it’s February. We have a long way to go.”

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At the plate: 3B Jake Lamb capped a three-run first inning with a two-run homer to center field, a blast that came off Rockies LHP Tyler Anderson. Not only did Lamb struggle against lefties last year, Anderson was good against left-handed hitters, not allowing a homer to a lefty in 112 plate appearances. CF A.J. Pollock doubled and walked, and 1B Paul Goldschmidt had an RBI single and a hard-hit fly ball to deep left.

Extra bases: Diamondbacks 2B Ildemaro Vargas saved a run with a slick play on a ground ball by 2B Rafael Ynoa with two out in the fifth. LF Jeremy Hazelbaker made a nice catch near the wall on a drive by Cristhian Adames in the seventh. DH Ketel Marte played eight innings and SS Nick Ahmed seven innings, the most among the starters.

Sunday’s game: Diamondbacks RHP Braden Shipley vs. Rockies LHP Chris Rusin, 1:10 p.m., Salt River Fields.