Photo by Jordan Megenhardt

By Josh Greene

D-backs reliever Brad Ziegler continued his strong pitching with another scoreless inning of work in Friday’s 2-0 loss in San Diego. Over his last 13 games, dating back to August 20 in Atlanta, the right-hander hasn’t given up a run and has only surrendered two hits over that span, while racking up eight strikeouts.

“I’m throwing strikes,” Ziegler said. “I don’t feel I’m doing anything special. It took me a little while to feel comfortable after the trade and to settle in, so I feel great now.

“It’s a great thing to know (manager Kirk Gibson) can put me in in any situation. As a middle reliever, that’s your role anyway. You never know what role you’ll be coming into, so you always have to be ready.”

Gibson stressed Ziegler’s usage will still depend on the situation, but overall he’s been thrilled with the reliever’s contributions on the mound since coming over from the A’s before the July 31 trading deadline.  

“He’s been dominating,” Gibson said. “He’s come in really quickly and had good location. He gets the ball to where he wants to throw it. He’s especially tough on right-handers, and he gets lefties out, as well.

“He’s looked comfortable. He’s got good experience. The man knows what he’s doing.”