Ray on return from DL: 'I feel ready for this'

MIAMI -- Robbie Ray was ready to fly with Triple-A Reno to Las Vegas for a Monday rehab start, but a funny thing happened on the way to the airport.
The left-handed pitcher, who was set to make his final rehab start during his recovery from an oblique strain, got a phone call urging him to be in Miami for a Wednesday start with the D-backs. So instead of traveling with Reno to Las Vegas, Ray was rerouted to South Florida.
"Obviously, I want to be here and pitch for this team and give us a chance to win," Ray said. "I feel like I'm in really good shape. My arm feels good, oblique, everything's fine. So I feel ready for this."
Ray said he feels he's made giant strides from his first rehab start to his second.
"First outing was a little rough. Obviously not pitching for eight weeks there's going to be some rust to knock off," he said. "But that second [rehab] I felt good. I felt like all my pitches were working -- slider, fastball, curve, in all four quadrants of the zone, up, down, in and out."
So what's the plan for Wednesday?
"I'm just going to go out there and put up as many zeroes as I can until they take the ball away," said Ray, who added that he wouldn't change the way he pitches. "I'm just going to go out there and pitch how I know how to pitch. I'm not going to change anything because I have a pitch limit or if I know they're going to take me out in a certain time of the game."
D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said he plans to take an inning-by-inning approach in Ray's first start back with the club since April 29.
"We're going to see how each inning goes with the workload and make some adjustments from there," Lovullo said.
Injury updates
Outfielders A.J. Pollock (left thumb fracture) and Steven Souza Jr. (right pectoral soreness) continue to progress in their recoveries from injury. Pollock swung the bat Tuesday with some soft toss, and according to Lovullo, it went well.

Souza Jr. was scheduled to be the designated hitter Tuesday night for Class A Advanced Visalia. He threw from up to 120 feet on Monday and will continue to progress with his throwing, according to Lovullo.
Roster move
Prior to Tuesday's game, the D-backs recalled right-handed pitcher Jimmy Sherfy from Triple-A Reno and optioned right-handed pitcher Braden Shipley to Reno. Shipley was tagged with four runs on four hits and issued two walks over two innings in Monday's 9-5 loss to the Marlins.