Diamondbacks knock Chi Chi Gonzalez out early in 11-1 rout of Texas Rangers

Veteran ace Zack Greinke held the Texas Rangers in check for five-plus innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks jumped on starter Chi Chi Gonzalez early for a 11-1 split-squad win at Salt River Fields on Saturday afternoon.

Pitching: Gonzalez was rocked for seven runs on eight hits and two walks in just 3  1/3 innings. The Diamondbacks scored five times on five hits in the third, all with two outs. Gonzalez allowed consecutive doubles followed by consecutive home runs in the inning. He walked Greinke to start the fourth and a single and triple later made it 7-0. Myles Jaye allowed a two-run homer in the seventh to push Arizona’s lead to 9-0. Jaye allowed four runs (two earned) on four hits over three innings.

Hitting: Greinke held the Rangers to three singles in five innings. Two came in the fourth when Shin-Soo Choo and Rougned Odor started the inning with singles, followed by Michael McKenry’s walk to load the bases with no outs. But Mitch Moreland’s potential sacrifice fly to right turned into a double play when Odor was caught off the bag at second when Choo was held at third. Joey Gallo ended the inning, stranding Choo at third, when Greinke struck him out looking. Greinke held the Rangers to four hits and two walks over 5  2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out seven. Prospect Michael De Leon drove in the lone run with a double to the right-field corner in the eighth. Odor had two of the Rangers’ eight hits.

Notable: Moreland made a spectacular diving stop to his left down the line behind first base and threw out the runner for an out in the third. … Former TCU star Kevin Cron hit a pinch-hit, first-pitch, two-run homer in the seventh for the Diamondbacks. … Left-hander Jeffrey Springs, a 30th-round selection (888th overall) in the 2015 draft, walked three in 1  2/3 scoreless innings of relief.

This story was originally published March 19, 2016 at 6:18 PM with the headline "Diamondbacks knock Chi Chi Gonzalez out early in 11-1 rout of Texas Rangers."