I hadn’t seen Riley Smith pitch, or start, for the Diamondbacks this year, I don’t think, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. With Merrill Kelly this afternoon joining Taylor Widener on the IL this afternoon, I was curious to watch him, especially given that we’re probably going to see him frequently in a starting role for the foreseeable future.
The game didn’t get off to a terrific start, to be honest. The Marlins pitcher, a hard-throwing righty named Sandy Alcantara, pitched around a one-out Asdrubel Cabrera single to retire the top of the lineup while only throwing nine pitches.