Gabriel Moreno connected for an opposite-field grand slam in the fourth inning and the Diamondbacks lead the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-0, after 4½ innings on Thursday night, May 8, at Chase Field.

Moreno took a 2-0 fastball from Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto and hit it just barely over the right-field fence for his first home run of the season. Yamamoto walked Pavin Smith to start the inning, allowed an infield single to Josh Naylor, then hit Eugenio Suarez to load the bases.

Right-hander Brandon Pfaadt has fired five scoreless innings, giving up just two hits and walking two. He has, however, given up several hard-hit balls, including a deep drive off the bat of James Outman in the third inning that center fielder Alek Thomas made a nice catch on at the wall.

Ketel Marte looking to get going at the plate

Ketel Marte has been quiet since returning from the injured list, but the Diamondbacks are hopeful their star second baseman will get going at the plate sooner than later.

“He’s going to be great,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “He just needs reps.”

Marte has played five games, starting four, since returning from a month-long stay on the injured list with a left hamstring strain. He has gone just 2 for 16 with no extra base hits and two walks.

The Diamondbacks had believed there was a chance Marte would get going sooner, in part because of how locked in he was in the at-bats he took in games at extended spring training. He told reporters he hit seven homers in roughly 25 at-bats on the backfields.

Lovullo was asked this week why the club did not ask him to go on a more typical rehab assignment before coming off the injured list.

“We trusted the medical team that said he was ready, we trusted the input we were getting from the data, and we trusted the athlete,” Lovullo said. “We give some players that space.

“We felt like as a group he didn’t need to go. I believe in that, as well. I think he’s coming. Whether he was in the minor leagues, he probably would have had the same type of an at-bat, which is very close.”

Marte hasn’t been chasing an unusual number of pitches out of the strike zone, he just hasn’t been making his typical hard contact. Since returning, he has hit only two balls 95 mph or harder that weren’t on the ground.

Rehab assignment or not, it is not uncommon for players to struggle in their first handful of games back, but the Diamondbacks could clearly use the kind of production from him that they received last season, when he hit .292/.372/.560 and finished third in National League MVP voting.

“I’m going to be patient with him,” Lovullo said, “because he’s an elite player.”

Six-man starting rotation for Diamondbacks?

Lovullo confirmed that the Diamondbacks’ baseball decision-makers have considered the idea of a temporary six-man starting rotation that would include swingman Ryne Nelson, who has mostly worked out of the bullpen this season but recently started a game and was a starter in 2024.

There’s no conclusion on that yet, Lovullo said. Such a situation would give all of the starters an extra day of rest.

“We feel like this is the time where if we can, maybe it’s good to give a somebody or two, or three, a blow. We’ll see,” Lovullo said.

The pitchers don’t have a problem with it as long as they are made aware of a change in their routine four or five days before it happens, Lovullo said.

“We believe in giving that pitcher potentially a blow at some point in the season,” Lovullo said. “This might be the time, we’re not sure.”

-Jose M. Romero

Diamondbacks health updates

Right-handed relief pitcher Kendall Graveman (back strain) is moving closer to a return from the 15-day injured list, and it could be by May 12 or shortly thereafter.

Graveman threw 14 pitches in one inning on May 7 at Reno, the ball coming out of his hand at 94 and 95 mph. He’s expected to throw next in Reno on Friday, May 9.

“The health is there, it’s just now repeating delivery, making pitches and recovering,” Lovullo said.  

Lovullo said Graveman might need just one more rehab outing.

Another pitcher on the 15-day injured list, right-handed reliever Justin Martinez, threw from 90 feet on May 8, and said he felt great, Lovullo said. Martinez will next throw off a mound at Salt River Fields over the weekend, and there’s a chance that Martinez comes off the 15-day injured list when the 15 days are up May 16.

“I think it’s going to potentially be around that time,” Lovullo said. “It’s not going to be much longer than that if it’s not that day.”

-Jose M. Romero

Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 6:40 p.m., Cox, Ch. 34

Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (5-2, 3.79) vs. Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (4-2, 0.90).

At Chase Field: Pfaadt was roughed up in Philadelphia in his most recent start, giving up six earned runs on nine hits in 4 ⅔ innings. It was his first loss in more than a month and the first time Pfaadt failed to work at least five innings in a start. Pfaadt is 2-2 in four career starts against the Dodgers, with a 6.20 earned run average. Pfaadt is 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA, three walks and 14 strikeouts in his past three home starts. … Yamamoto has been the Dodgers’ most effective starting pitcher this season, his splitter a weapon that generates a great deal of swings and misses. He’s gone at least six innings in four of his seven starts this season, and one of those five-inning starts was the season opener in Japan, where he was limited to 72 pitches. Yamamoto is 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA in two career starts against Arizona.

Coming up

Friday, May 9: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (1-3, 5.92) vs. Dodgers RHP Roki Sasaki (1-1, 3.86).

Saturday, May 10: At Chase Field, 5:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Corbin Burnes (1-1, 3.58) vs. Dodgers RHP Dustin May (1-2, 4.36)

Sunday, May 11: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (3-4, 4.37) vs. Dodgers RHP Ben Casparius (4-0, 2.81).

What to know about the Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers are the Diamondbacks’ first division opponent of the season, and entered May 7 with the most wins in Major League Baseball, 24. But the defending World Series champions are in a dogfight in the National League West with the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres, and the Diamondbacks can make up ground with a sweep or series win. … The Dodgers have been beset with injuries, and it’s likely they will face Arizona without two of their top players, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman. Both are on the injured list. … On the pitching staff, starters Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell are out, forcing L.A. to dig into its depth to fill the rotation. That said, the big three of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman are fine, and the Dodgers’ bullpen has quality arms to close out games. … The Diamondbacks went 6-7 against the Dodgers last season, but the rivalry has history, as Arizona swept L.A. out of the postseason in the NL Division Series in 2023.

(This story has been updated with new information.)