Weaver welcomes feedback in sim game

After he let go of what he thought might be a good curveball that the batter instead made solid contact on, D-backs right-hander Luke Weaver wanted to know why.

So, in between innings he asked the hitter.

Of course, you can't get away with that during a regular season game, or even a Cactus League one, but you can do it if you're facing a teammate on a backfield in a simulated game.

That's where Weaver was Monday morning, getting in some work on his breaking stuff while Taylor Widener struck out five over 3 1/3 innings against the Mariners in the D-backs' 6-2 win.

Outfielder David Peralta told Weaver that he was able to recognize that particular curveball quickly out of Weaver's hand.

The next inning, Weaver threw the same pitch to Peralta with a different result.

"It's a nice little adjustment I can make when I go back out there, I can correct that and throw a better one," Weaver said. "And then [Peralta] says, 'That was better.' So those are the really valuable things to get out of these outings and they just really create more dialogue throughout the outing."

Feedback like that, which Weaver said continued once he got back into the clubhouse and talked to more hitters, is one of the reasons why manager Torey Lovullo had some of his regulars -- Peralta, Nick Ahmed, Stephen Vogt and Asdrúbal Cabrera -- face the right-hander.

Since he took over as manager in 2017, Lovullo has given his starting pitchers at least one start in a simulated game, or a "B" game, each spring so they can work on some things outside of a regular game.

Madison Bumgarner got one last Wednesday -- he used it to work on throwing more of his secondary stuff and other aspects he said he felt freer to do in that setting.

"It's a really good day to be able to just work on a couple things," Weaver said. "Throwing some more breakers, challenging myself in some different counts and just getting that under my belt."

Weaver has made two Cactus League starts this spring, tossing two scoreless innings against the Indians and giving up four runs in three innings to the Rockies.

After some hard-hit balls early Monday, Weaver settled in and the only run he allowed was on a homer by Daulton Varsho in his fourth inning.

With a few more starts left before Opening Day, he feels like he's in a good place.

"I feel confident leaving that outing the way I finished it," Weaver said. "Seeing our hitters find barrels early and then making adjustments, and them giving me the nods and the remarks of like, 'Those are good adjustments,' that's ultimately what we're looking for and that's a good one."