Campos pressed into long relief in MLB debut

PHOENIX -- D-backs right-hander Vicente Campos made his Major League debut in Saturday's 13-0 loss to the Reds, providing his team with a much-needed, lengthy relief outing.
After starter Zack Godley lasted just two frames, Campos tossed 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts. It was the longest relief outing in an MLB debut since Detroit's Kyle Lobstein also threw 5 2/3 innings on Aug. 23, 2014.
"He used all his pitches, mixed his pitches. He's got a very good changeup, which we knew, breaking ball was effective." manager Chip Hale said. "He just did a nice job of getting ground balls, fly balls, a few strikeouts here and there. It was very impressive."
Campos was acquired by Arizona on July 31 in a deal that sent veteran reliever Tyler Clippard to the Yankees. The 24-year-old right-hander is the D-backs' No. 4 prospect, as ranked by MLBPipeline.com.
In his first inning on a big league mound, Campos retired the Reds in order in the third, striking out a pair. He allowed a homer to Zack Cozart in the fourth and an unearned run on an error later in the inning.
Campos had retired nine of 10 batters when he gave up a two-out homer to Adam Duvall in the eighth, which ended his night.
"I tried to be ahead, attack the hitters early, in the strike zone, and try to get a first out in every inning," Campos said through an interpreter. "At this level, it's pretty hard to be in front of those hitters, so I feel really good about it."
Not only did Campos have a strong debut, but he gave the rest of Arizona's bullpen a much-needed rest. The D-backs have had three blown save opportunities since Monday, and the relievers have been taxed following short outings by the starters.
"He gave us a chance now to win the series tomorrow," Hale said. "Without his outing, we would have had to use everybody out of the bullpen and it probably would have been a tough game tomorrow for us to deal with."