Even as Matt Carpenter’s return to Grapefruit League play is delayed

JUPITER http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-brad-hand-jersey , Fla. (AP) — , both the team and the third baseman insist the lingering back tightness is no big deal.“If this was the middle of the season and these games counted I would be just working through some of the soreness and tightness that I’m going through, but I don’t feel the need to do that and go back to 70 percent because I’m pushing through a spring training game,” Carpenter said.Originally expected to return on Wednesday, Carpenter now may not return until Sunday.Manager Mike Shildt doesn’t believe the tightness will lead to Carpenter missing opening day next Thursday at Milwaukee.“It’s felt good the last three days,” Shildt said. “Really positive. We just want to make sure we’re progressing, nip it in the bud, being smart. We don’t want it to flare up and miss any time in Milwaukee.”Carpenter hasn’t appeared in a game since Friday. He originally experienced the back tightness on Saturday during fielding drills.He underwent an MRI in recent days which Carpenter said showed his back is in better shape than last year, when it bothered him throughout spring leading to a slow start to the season.“Because of it being early in the year and we’re about to break, I’m not pushing through a little tight back,” Carpenter said.Carpenter expects to remain in Jupiter when the Cardinals break camp on Sunday Trevor Hoffman Jersey , skipping the team’s Monday exhibition game at Triple-A Memphis. He’ll rejoin St. Louis in Milwaukee the day prior to the March 28 season opener.A three-time All-Star, Carpenter is hitting .179 with three homers in 33 plate appearances this spring.“I feel like my swing and my at-bats are where they need to be,” Carpenter said. “I had enough work before that as far as playing and defense to where a day or two would be good.”Carpenter’s absence over the past week prevented Shildt from fielding his expected opening day lineup at any point this spring. For Shildt, only two batting order spots are set: Carpenter at leadoff and Marcel Ozuna at cleanup.With Carpenter out, Dexter Fowler batted leadoff, followed on Thursday by Paul Goldschmidt and Paul DeJong.Fowler smashed New York starter Domingo German’s first pitch over the right field wall for his first spring homer. Fowler hit a two-run homer in the second inning.Ozuna also hit his first homer of the spring, a solo shot to left in the third. Pronunciation: \cook\"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Diamondbacks Farm TeamsGameday ThreadsDiamondbacks NewsDiamondbacks Game ReportsFang Food2018 Arizona Diamondbacks Reviews:#22, Matt Koch.New,19commentsPronunciation: \cook\there Koch was placed into the starting rotation replacing Taijuan Walker who left his April 14th start early after complaining of elbow tightness. Walker would shortly be lost to TJ surgery. Koch’s 2nd 2018 appearance and 1st as a starter came on April 20th in San Diego. Koch managed to pitch a good game going 6 innings striking out 4 while allowing only 2 hits, one of them a solo HR, in a no decision start for Koch but a Dback’s loss. Koch again started in April on the 26th in Philly where he would record his 1st 2018 win Evan Longoria Jersey , but watch his hit count go way up to 6 hits allowed in 6 innings pitched. The beginning of May looked as Koch was going to get knocked down a peg or two with his next two starts scheduled against a couple of big names in Kershaw and Verlander. Koch, with help from the offense, handled the Dodgers and even more so the Astros, with both of these games resulting in home field wins for the Dbacks. Here’s a fun-fact: Matt Koch became the 1st pitcher to face MVPs in consecutive starts since 1947. At this point of the season Koch is 2-0 in 4 starts. The rest of May was shaky at best for Matt Koch since clearly opposing batters have him figured out - Koch gave up a tremendous amount of hits in his last 4 starts of May going 1-3 and allowing 17 runs on 30 hits. In two of these four starts Koch could not manage to strikeout a single batter. Koch’s 1st start in June came at home against the Marlins and Koch was on fire throwing his best stuff. Maybe it was the (minors) team he was facing, either way Koch went 7 innings striking out 6, allowing 0 runs. Looking better, but not for long. Koch would go on to start 3 more games in June and the opposing teams would continue to rough him up. Similar to his end of May starts, Koch was unable to keep his hit count low and gave up 18 hits in his remaining 3 starts in June. Finally, after his final start in June, Koch was optioned back to Reno in anticipation of Shelby Miller’s return. Koch returned to the Dbacks (bullpen) in July and made two appearances, in both he threw just 1 inning each game. Koch was once again given a starting opportunity Andrew McCutchen Jersey , this time in September against Colorado after Buccholz was scratched. The Rockies pounded Koch for the entirety of the first 3 innings in that start, it was BRUTAL. The rest of the season Matt Koch would only make two more appearances, once in long relief and once more as a starter. Overall, Koch slightly exceeded my expectations as an early season replacement call-up for Walker, less so during his spot starts in September. On the bright side, Koch started 14 games in 2018 when nobody expect he would, and the Dbacks managed to win 8 of those games. Though Koch pitched less out of the pen, he proved a more reliable bullpen piece than others. Expect the 28 year old Koch to compete for a starting rotation spot in 2019, and if that falls through, a long inning relief role in the bullpen.