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TeamsGameday ThreadsDiamondbacks NewsDiamondbacks Game ReportsFang FoodDiamondbacks 2 C. J. Cron Jersey , Cubs 10: Bear-ly believeableNew,20commentsWelp.ESTShareTweetShareShareDiamondbacks 2, Cubs 10: Bear-ly believeableMatt Kartozian-USA TODAY SportsRecord 4-2-1. Change on 2018: +1.5. 5-inning record: 4-1-2.Safe to say, this afternoon’s contest at Salt River Fields, in front of a sold-out crowd, will have been considerably better appreciated by the wintering Chicago snowbirds, than the hometown fans. Arizona’s offense was kept off the board until a Kevin Cron home-run in the ninth inning, while the pitching and defense weren’t up to much at all. Our pitchers allowed 10 runs on 12 hits and five walks. Three of those runs were unearned, thanks to a trio of errors by Cron at the hot corner, so his ending of the shutout was hardly sufficient compensation. For the first televised game of the year on Fox Sports Arizona... Well, I won’t blame you if you found something else to do, long before the end.Robbie Ray was the starting pitcher for the Diamondbacks, and had a fairly Ray-esque outing for his spring debut. A one-out walk in the first was followed by a wild pitch, and the runner came around to score on an RBI single. But Ray stranded a man who had reached third with one out, and followed up with a scoreless second inning, around a one-out single. He finished the second off by retiring former Diamondback Evan Marzilli; a lead-off single in the third was erased by a caught stealing http://www.raysfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , and one out later, Ray’s day was done. His final line was one run over 2.2 innings of work, on three hits and a walk with three strikeouts. That was definitely one of the day’s better pitching performances by Arizona. The bulk of the damage was done against two men who are expected to be part of the Opening Day bullpen. Greg Holland made his D-backs debut and failed to impressed, having to be bailed out without getting through the fourth inning. With one out, he allowed a single, a walk and then a three-run home-run to Mark Zagunis. He did strikeout the last batter he faced. T.J. McFarland also couldn’t get through the five-run seventh, allowing three hits and four runs in 0.2 innings. In his defense, he wasn’t helped by Cron’s first error, or by Sam Lewis allowing a three-run shot that allowed both runners he inherited to score. As a result, two of the four runs charged to McFarland were unearned.Taylor Widener did throw a pair of scoreless innings, despite issuing back-to-back four-pitch walks with one out in the fifth. An Addison Russell double-play with the bases loaded were all that allowed Widener to escape unscathed. Jimmie Sherfy gave up a run on two hits in the eighth, and Stefan Crichton worked a scoreless ninth around errors #2 and #3 by Cron. It was a good day for our catchers at the plate, Alex Avila and Daulton Varsho evenly splitting a 4-for-4 game. But the D-backs didn’t have a hit with a runner in scoring position until Varsho’s RBI double with one out in the ninth, scoring SS Jazz Chisholm.Not the start to March we wanted. Here’s to better tomorrow, when the Dodgers are the opponents for the first time this year. Matt Andriese is the scheduled starter at Salt River Fields on Saturday afternoon. CLEVELAND — Coming off the worst start of his major league career, two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber will be on the mound Tuesday night when the Cleveland Indians host the Chicago White Sox in the first game of a three-game series.Kluber (18-7 Jonny Venters Jersey , 2.91 ERA) will make his first start since a 6-5 loss in Tampa Bay on Sept. 9, when Kluber only lasted 1 2/3 innings, throwing 55 pitches. Forty-four of those pitches came in the second inning and resulted in only two outs. It’s the most pitches that Kluber has ever thrown in one inning.In 1 2/3 innings, he gave up four runs and five hits with four strikeouts and one walk.Article continues below ...The Indians skipped Kluber’s next start, but it wasn’t because of that ugly start in Tampa Bay. It was because manager Terry Francona wanted to get Kluber lined up to pitch Game 1 of the American League Division Series, which will likely be Oct. 5 in Houston.In the meantime, Kluber will have three starts remaining in the regular season, the first of those Tuesday night against a White Sox team that Kluber has historically done well against.In his last start against Chicago, a 12-0 win on June 20, Kluber pitched seven scoreless innings and gave up one hit, with seven strikeouts and one walk.In two starts against the White Sox this year, he is 2-0, having pitched 13 scoreless innings on four hits, with 17 strikeouts and one walk. In 22 career appearances against Chicago, he is 11-4 with a 2.90 ERA.The Indians on Saturday clinched their third consecutive AL Central title, so Francona is able to use the final two weeks of the regular season to give some of his regulars occasional days off while trying to get two key veterans ramped up for the postseason.Reliever Andrew Miller Matt Moore Jersey , who has made three separate trips to the disabled list this year, is still trying to get back into peak form.“He’s taking steps in the right direction. He’s got to keep building,” Francona said.The other veteran is third baseman Josh Donaldson, whom the Indians acquired in a trade with Toronto on Aug. 31. Donaldson missed most of this season with a calf strain. He has played in four games for the Indians since being activated off the disabled list and is hitting .154 (2-for-13) with one home run and one RBI.“He just needs some reps,” Francona said. “Every time he plays it feels like an investment. The more he plays (the better he’ll be). He’s playing the heck out of third base. We’ve just got to get him his at-bats.”Chicago’s starting pitcher on Tuesday will be left-hander Carlos Rodon (6-5, 3.10), who has historically pitched well against Cleveland.Rodon’s last start came against Kansas City on Sept. 12, when he got no decision in a 4-2 White Sox victory. In that game, Rodon pitched six innings, allowing two runs and five hits, with five strikeouts and five walks.Rodon’s last start against Cleveland came Aug. 10. The White Sox won that game 1-0, but Rodon did not get the decision, despite pitching eight scoreless innings on four hits with five strikeouts and two walks.In three starts against the Indians this year, Rodon is 0-1 with a 2.79 ERA. In 13 career appearances against Cleveland, Rodon is 4-2 with a 2.44 ERA.