Notes: Ginkel slowed; Lamb slugs; Kelly sharp

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- D-backs reliever Kevin Ginkel is experiencing arm fatigue, according to manager Torey Lovullo, and has had his next appearance pushed back to next week.

“We’re just backing off him a little bit with a little bit of arm fatigue,” Lovullo said. “It’s kind of the normal time for things like that to pop up from time to time. He spoke up, which we want our guys to do. Nothing has been diagnosed. It’s just a matter of us pulling back a little bit at this time when we can.”

Around this time during the spring, there is usually a pitcher or two who experiences arm fatigue, or what some call a “dead arm” period.

Ginkel struggled with his fastball command against the Royals on Tuesday night.

The right-hander came into camp with a leg up in the competition for bullpen spots based on his strong 2019 season. Called up near the beginning of August, Ginkel quickly became one of Lovullo’s most trusted relievers, compiling a 1.48 ERA over 25 games.

Big day for Jake
First baseman Jake Lamb was 3-for-3 with pair of doubles and a homer to go with four RBIs in Arizona's 10-5 split-squad win over the Padres on Saturday.

Lamb came into the game 2-for-16 this spring. It was an at-bat he had against Royals reliever Trevor Rosenthal on Tuesday that prompted him to make more tweaks in his mechanics at the plate.

“I literally faced Rosenthal the other night, and knew I had no chance to hit 102 mph, so I needed to minimize some movement,” Lamb said.

Lamb cleaned up his approach so that he could get his front foot down and hands ready quicker.

“It just puts you in a good position to hit,” he said. “When I feel like I’m in that launch position and have my front heel down, I feel like I can hit anybody.”

Kelly happy
Merrill Kelly allowed two runs on three hits over four innings in his start against the Padres, with both runs coming on a homer by Ty France in the fourth.

“I felt good,” Kelly said. “I was happy with location, I was happy with the pitches. I was able to throw all of them for strikes, and more than just control, I felt like I was able to command most of the pitches today, which is a positive.”

Zac Gallen allowed two runs on five hits and two walks in 3 2/3 innings in Arizona's 6-6 tie with the Angels in the other split-squad game.

Be smart
The D-backs received a briefing from Dr. Roger McCoy, the team physician, regarding the coronavirus outbreak.

“It is a serious virus and it’s killing people, so we want to make sure that we were using a lot of common sense when it came to washing our hands and the contact that we have with one another,” Lovullo said. “Just be smart about it.”

Players were not told to limit contact with fans, but just to be aware of how any virus can spread when multiple people use the same pen.

“We were asked to just use a lot of common sense,” Lovullo said. “Not [just] for our safety, but the safety of the fans as well. You’re picking up a pen, you’re sharing a pen and you could [transfer] a germ from one fan to another. They were asked to be sensible about it if they could.”

Ahmed to Ahmed
D-backs shortstop Nick Ahmed got to play with his brother Michael for the first time since high school when they formed the team’s double play combination during the fifth and sixth innings against San Diego.

Michael Ahmed was brought over from Minor League camp as a substitute for the game. Lovullo had talked earlier this spring about hoping to pair the brothers up at some point.

They nearly turned a 6-4-3 double play in the fifth, but Abraham Almonte was able to beat the relay throw to first.