SAN DIEGO -- To give their tired bullpen a boost, the D-backs on Monday called up right-hander Jon Duplantier from Triple-A Reno.

Duplantier is ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the organization, behind shortstop Jazz Chisholm, by MLB Pipeline.

In their four-game, season-opening series against the Dodgers, the D-backs did not have a starter go longer than 5 1/3 innings. They also played a 13-inning game.

“We don’t want to ask so much of that group right now,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said of his bullpen. “He’s going to give us a little bit of coverage down there. He’s ready. He’s excited.”

Oh, yes he is.

“It’s what every one of us dreams about, you know?” Duplantier said. “I’m just grateful to be here. It’s the best feeling in the world walking in here for the first time and seeing everybody and they’re like, ‘Hey, man, welcome.’”

Duplantier, 24, was selected by the D-backs in the third round of the 2016 Draft out of Rice University. In 14 starts with Double-A Jackson last year, he was 5-1 with a 2.69 ERA.

Assigned to start this season in Reno, Duplantier had driven from the team’s Spring Training facility to Reno, leaving Saturday and arriving in Reno on Sunday around 2 p.m. Then at 5 p.m., he got the call that he would be headed to San Diego to join the big league team.

“I tried to call my dad, and he didn’t answer the phone,” Duplantier said. “So I called my mom, and I thought I was just going to be real calm: ‘Hey, Mom, go get Dad, put him on the speaker phone.’ And as soon as I heard my mom’s voice I just started breaking down in tears: ‘Momma, Momma, you’ve got to get Dad!’ And she thought something terrible had happened, so she started freaking out. They finally got on the speaker phone, and I got to tell them and it was a real mess for the next five minutes.”

All was good after that, though, and his parents were able to get on a flight from Houston that got them into San Diego on Monday afternoon.

13 pitchers
To make room on the roster for Duplantier, the team optioned infielder Ildemaro Vargas to Reno, meaning they are carrying 13 pitchers rather than the usual 12.

With Vargas not on the roster, it increases the likelihood that Jake Lamb could see some time at third base.

Lamb, a third baseman his entire career, was asked to switch to first after the team traded Paul Goldschmidt. Because first base was so new for him, he focused exclusively on that and did not take a single grounder at third during the spring.

During batting practice at Petco on Monday, he took some grounders at third and said he feels confident that he will not have any issues playing there, if needed.

Playing Lamb at third would allow the team to get first baseman Christian Walker's bat in the lineup more. Walker hit a pair of home runs while starting one of the first four games at Dodger Stadium.