On Tuesday he felt fine. On Wednesday he didn’t. And just to be safe rather than sorry, the Diamondbacks removed ace Brandon Webb from his scheduled start Saturday against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers because of right-shoulder stiffness.
Webb began feeling soreness behind the shoulder during Monday’s season-opening, 9-8 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Monday after getting roughed up in the third inning.
He said it didn’t bother him the next day, when he played catch. But it stiffened on him overnight, and Webb alerted manager Bob Melvin and the team’s medical staff upon arriving at Chase Field on Wednesday.
“I’m going to make sure I take care of this early on,” Melvin said. “The training staff will work diligently on him the next few days, and hopefully that’s all it is.”
Webb, who lasted just four innings Monday and allowed six runs, was to be examined by team physician Michael Lee. Melvin said the team likely will wait to see how Webb’s shoulder feels before scheduling an MRI exam.
Yusmeiro Petit, who made the team as a long reliever, will start in Webb’s place Saturday. If Webb’s shoulder improves with rest and therapy over the next few days, he will slide back into his usual spot in the rotation and likely pitch April 17 at San Francisco.
Webb was not available for comment. A team spokesman said the pitcher plans to speak with reporters Friday.
Rockies off to good start
Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins said he hoped this would be a year of paybacks. The Diamondbacks, after all, went 15-3 against his team last season.
“Hopefully we can return the favor,” Atkins said.
Colorado is off to a good start, winning the three-game series with a convincing 9-2 victory Wednesday before a crowd of 18,277 at Chase Field. Last year, it took the Rockies until the middle of August to collect two wins against Arizona. This year, it took them two days.
And the theme Wednesday was the same as Tuesday: The Rockies got sharp pitching, and the D’backs couldn’t do much with their bats. Arizona was held to five hits for the second straight day.
Left-hander Franklin Morales allowed one run and struck out six in six innings to get the win, only to learn after the game he was getting optioned to the minors to open a roster spot for new pitcher Jason Hammel. Doug Davis took the loss, allowing four earned runs and four walks in five innings.
“We certainly need to play a lot better,” Melvin said. “It is what it is, but we have the Dodgers coming in (Friday), and we better pick it up quickly.” Arizona is off Thursday.