Lovullo explains confusion over Peralta’s status

SAN DIEGO – Left fielder David Peralta was out of the lineup for a second consecutive day on Saturday due to a stomach issue, but unlike on Friday, he was at Petco Park, hit in the cage pregame and seemed more likely to be available off the bench than the day before.

Peralta’s status was a topic of pregame confusion on Friday, and manager Torey Lovullo called it a situation he could have handled better, apologizing to reporters for his misleading comments.

With Peralta out of the lineup on Friday, Lovullo told reporters that Peralta was just receiving a normal day off. When it was brought to Lovullo’s attention that reporters had noticed Peralta’s absence, he claimed it was because he wanted Peralta to get extra rest at the team hotel before reporting to the ballpark.

As it turned out, Peralta was sick and never made it to the park. Lovullo said he was trying to protect a competitive advantage – he didn’t want the Padres to know he was a man short on the bench – but admitted he could have done so differently.

“I feel strongly that I could have just told you guys exactly what was going on,” Lovullo said, “and it wouldn’t have hurt if I’d have said he was battling a little bit of a stomach flu or discomfort and we were going to give him a little rest and wait it out through the course of the night.

“I just went into protect mode and probably made a mistake.”

Lovullo said that the club had been hopeful prior to the game that Peralta would make it to the park – he was at the Omni, a hotel located directly across the street from Petco Park – but ultimately got word via the training staff that it wasn’t going to happen.

“Obviously, we put it in David’s hands and he just wasn’t feeling up to it,” Lovullo said.

Nick’s night

Shortstop Nick Ahmed was ejected from Friday night’s game in the third inning after arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire James Hoye, an outcome that led to the Diamondbacks being so short-handed on the bench that they sent pitcher Zack Greinke to pinchhit in the fourth inning.

Hoye called an inside strike earlier in the same at-bat, and Ahmed said Hoye “clearly stated” that was as far inside as the zone would go. Four pitches later, Ahmed was rung up on a pitch that was further in.

“Then he started to just make things up about how the pitch was moving and that it came back and was a two-seamer,” Ahmed said. “The guy doesn’t throw running, two-seam fastballs, so it got me pretty irate that he was just making things up and telling me how the ball moves when I know how the ball moves. That kind of put me over the edge a little bit.”

It was Ahmed’s second career ejection – and the second time he got run from a game and left the Diamondbacks in a precarious spot. The first time, on April 24, 2016, Ahmed’s ejection led to the team having to put pitcher Shelby Miller in left field for the final inning of the game.

“In the heat of the moment, I would have liked to have been more aware of that and walked away and maybe talked to him at a different time, but when (Hoye) started pointing I lost a little bit of my cool and wish I didn’t,” Ahmed said.