David Hernandez, Arizona Diamondbacks enjoying fruitful reunion

David Hernandez looked around the clubhouse and tried to remember. He wasn’t sure if his old locker was two or three stalls down from his current one. But either way, he realized something about his second stint with the organization that, to him, most feels like home.

“It kind of feels like I never left, to be honest,” Hernandez said. “It’s been fun. Hopefully, we can start winning some games to make it a little more fun. I’ve enjoyed being back around these guys.”

The Diamondbacks have enjoyed having him back. Entering Monday, Hernandez had made six appearances since he was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels in a trade deadline deal. He had faced 11 batters. He had retired every one of them.

He has been deployed in a variety of roles, sometimes entering with runners on base, other times coming in early in games, and he was even used once in a save situation, finishing out in Saturday’s win over the Chicago Cubs after closer Fernando Rodney had struggled to get the game’s final out.

So far Hernandez has more resembled the pitcher the Diamondbacks originally acquired prior to the 2011 season than the version they parted ways with after 2015.

Six years ago, Hernandez was the club’s primary eighth-inning man, teaming with closer J.J. Putz to provide much-needed stability to the back of the bullpen and helping the Diamondbacks win 94 games and the National League West. He had a 3.38 ERA in 74 appearances that season and was even better the next year, logging a 2.50 ERA with 98 strikeouts in 68 1/3 innings.

But he struggled through a rough season in 2013, then blew out his elbow the following spring. When he returned a year later, he wasn’t nearly as effective. The Diamondbacks let him go as a free agent, and after inking a one-year, $3.9 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, Hernandez again wasn’t as dominant as before, posting a 3.84 ERA in 72 2/3 innings with 80 strikeouts.

“I feel like I’m right where I was before I had my injury,” Hernandez said. “Last year, I felt good, but I just didn’t feel like I was sharp. My command is a whole lot better than it was last year.”

He said he was surprised it took as long as it did to get all the way back following surgery.

“I felt good last year, but just the timing wasn’t right with my delivery, my motion, being able to repeat it over and over and over,” he said. “I think that’s what takes the longest is being able to repeat your delivery.”

He thinks another key has been the addition of a slider to a repertoire that had been primarily fastball/curveball. Going into last offseason, he felt he needed to add something that came in at a different speed, and the 88 mph slider fit perfectly between the mid-90s fastball and low-80s curveball.

He believes the pitch has not only given hitters something else to keep in mind, it’s also partly responsible for a career-best 46 percent ground-ball rate.

But it took a while for him to break it out in a game. He signed a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants prior to spring training, and since he was trying to win a roster spot, he didn’t want to get beat on a pitch he didn’t fully trust.

It didn’t work out with the Giants, and after they cut him loose in March, Hernandez signed another minor league deal, this time with the Atlanta Braves, who sent him to Triple-A Gwinnett. That’s where the slider made its debut.

“I was like, ‘All right, I’m in Triple-A, I’m going to start tinkering with it and start throwing it,’ ” Hernandez said. “I just kept throwing it. It wasn’t always great. But I think with me just throwing it, it got a lot better over time.”

The Angels landed Hernandez in a minor trade in April, and he proceeded to post a 2.23 ERA in 36 1/3 innings.

“I always knew I could still pitch in the big leagues,” Hernandez said. “It just came down to proving myself again. I think that’s kind of the chip I take with me everyday. I’ve got to keep proving people wrong.”

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Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.

Tuesday’s game

Astros at Diamondbacks

When: 12:40 p.m.

Where: Chase Field (Roof hotline: 602-462-6262).

Pitchers: Diamondbacks LHP Anthony Banda (1-2, 4.60) vs. Astros RHP Brad Peacock (10-1, 3.07).

TV/Radio: FSAZ/KMVP-FM (98.7), KHOV-FM (105.1).

Banda got a quick hook in his start last week against the Dodgers, departing for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the fourth inning in a game the Diamondbacks would go on to lose 8-6. He gave up three runs – all in the first inning – allowing four hits and one walk. … Prior to that, Banda gave up one run in six innings against the Giants in San Francisco to earn his first big league win. … Peacock has played parts of six seasons in the big leagues and this has been by far his most successful. He’s logging a career-high strikeout rate of 11.5 per nine innings, which would rank third in the AL if he had enough innings to qualify. … He threw well his last time out, giving up one run in 6 2/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox. … Peacock is throwing more sinkers and sliders than he has in previous years, and he’s been getting solid results with both pitches. He has held opposing hitters to a .200 average and .304 slugging on the slider.

Coming up

Wednesday: At Houston, 5:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Taijuan Walker (6-6, 3.76) vs. Astros RHP Charlie Morton (9-5, 3.83).

Thursday: At Houston, 11:10 a.m., Diamondbacks LHP Patrick Corbin (9-11, 4.52) vs. Astros RHP Mike Fiers (7-7, 4.36).

Friday: At Minnesota, 5:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zack Godley (5-5, 2.95) vs. Twins RHP Ervin Santana (12-7, 3.28).