Diamondbacks’ Zack Godley to stay in rotation

If there were any doubts that Zack Godley hadn’t already earned the right to remain in the Diamondbacks’ starting rotation – and there shouldn’t have been any, really – the right-handed stamped his name as the fifth starter with an exclamation point on Monday night.

Godley mowed down the Mets in his third appearance, allowing just one run on one hit over 6 2/3 innings, and Arizona clubbed three home runs in the eighth to win the series opener, 7-3, in front of a crowd of 15,908 at Chase Field.

Godley, who is replacing the injured Shelby Miller, has allowed a total of just four earned runs in his three starts spanning 18 2/3 innings. Mets catcher Rene Rivera was the only New York batter to get a hit off of Godley – a single to right in the second inning.

Godley did walk five batters, however, one of them intentionally. He also had seven strikeouts and was charged with an error.

“I think the pace was set by Zack, who gave us 6 2/3 of real good baseball on a night when we really needed it, we were a little bit down,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “I know it wasn’t a perfect outing for him – he had five walks – but the bottom line was he went out there, gave up one hit, and kept them in check by making pitches when he had to.”

Lovullo confirmed Godey will remain in the rotation, but he didn’t give the pitcher a wholehearted endorsement.

“Safe to say right now. We’re thinking along those lines,” Lovullo said when asked if it’s safe to assume Godley will remain in the rotation. “Right now, yes, he’ll be the starter in five days.”

Godley, who threw 98 pitches, said he didn’t have his best stuff and battled through some control problems, especially with his fastball, but was pleased with the overall result.

“To come out of a game in a tie ballgame or just giving the team a chance to win is a great feeling, no matter how I felt on the mound,” he said.

Asked if he’s gaining confidence knowing the team is relying on him more and more, Godley said, “The confidence grows each time when you go out on the mound, no matter what the circumstances are. I just hope I can continue to get that opportunity and just keep going out and giving the team a chance to win.”

D-BACKS: Pollock on disabled list, but positive about returning soon

Rey Fuentes given another chance in the majors

Pressure can get the best of anybody and it got the best of Reymond Fuentes after the Red Sox made him a first-round pick in 2009, giving him a $1,134,000 signing bonus as a young outfield prospect out of Puerto Rico.

Despite possessing all the tools, the talent never fully translated at the major-league level. The Red Sox traded him to the Padres as part of the Adrian Gonzalez-for-Anthony Rizzo deal. The Padres traded him to the Royals in 2014 for minor-league pitcher Kyle Bartsch. Then Kansas City cut him last September, making him a free agent.

On Monday, Fuentes became the new starting center fielder for the Diamondbacks, who had signed him to a minor-league contract in December.

“I’m very excited. I’m very happy to be here,” Fuentes said before making his Arizona debut against the Mets at Chase Field. “A lot of traveling, a lot of packing, a lot of emotions. I called my Dad and he was really excited about it.”

Fuentes, 26, entered the night with 18 career hits and had previously played in only 36 career major-league games. But he’ll get the first crack, regardless, of trying to replace the injured A.J. Pollock in center and at the top of Arizona’s batting order.

Pollock went on the disabled list with a Grade 1 right groin strain and the Diamondbacks said he won’t play again until he is 100 percent healthy. That could mean an extended stay on DL for a player who’s dealt with multiple groin problems and other injury issues.

Fuentes, meanwhile, said his career in the big leagues was stunted because of nervous energy and pressures brought about by all the heavy expectations placed upon him as a 19-year-old.

“It affected me in Kansas City and San Diego before and I’ve worked on it and I’m pretty happy about my work and just trying to do my job,” he said. “I guess every player in their first two years get nervous around a lot of people, even the best of the best in baseball.”

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo knew Fuentes during their time together in the Red Sox organization and he made it a point on Monday to say young players develop and mature at different rates.

“You need to embrace what you can handle and what you can do and that takes time to understand,” Lovullo said. “It’s not a perfect science. There’s very few Bryce Harpers and Derek Jeters in today’s game.”

Fuentes, a left-handed batter, was hitting .376 in 36 games for Triple-A Reno when he was promoted. He collected eight doubles, three triples, eight walks, nine stolen bases and 13 RBIs for the Aces and was hitting .516 against lefties.

Asked how he got over his bout with anxiety, he said, “Just by breathing, just by remembering what I was doing in Triple-A. My Dad and I were talking about just relaxing, taking everything slow and just slowing the game down.”

MORE: D-Backs hit hard by injuries to OFs, Iannetta

Peralta OK

After exiting Sunday’s game against the Pirates because of a tight right glute, right fielder David Peralta wasn’t in the starting lineup on Monday. Peralta said he was feeling much better and was able to pinch hit and play if necessary.

“For me it’s good. It’s a big relief because you see what happened with A.J. and everything and I was kind of worried about that,” Peralta said. “But I know at the first moment it wasn’t going to be that bad because I didn’t feel that really bad that moment when I was hitting. But the good news is, I’m available to play and it’s nothing bad, so I’m ready to go help the team.”

Chris Owings started in right for Peralta.

RELATED: Venezuela, family always on Peralta’s mind

Healing up

Catcher Chris Iannetta, on the disabled list after getting struck in the face by a fastball Friday night and suffering fractures to his teeth and nose as well as a badly split-open upper lip, said he was lucky.

Fixing his teeth, he said, won’t require any invasive repair. He’ll simply get some veneer caps. As for the fractures in his nose, he said there’s a really one small one and it’s likely the result of getting hit in the face by a pitch when he was 13.

“When they told me this time it may never heal, that might have been from the previous injury,” Iannetta said. “He was pressing on it and I didn’t feel anything. I’m guessing it was old because I think if it was fractured, I’d feel it.”

The real lucky part, though, was his upper lip.

“Yeah, I got real lucky there,” he said. “The plastic surgeon that did the repair is one of the best and I was very thankful that he was the attending doctor at the time.”

Tuesday’s game

Mets at Diamondbacks

When: 6:40 p.m.

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

Pitchers: RHP Zack Greinke (4-2, 2.79) vs. Mets LHP Tommy Milone (1-0, 5.88).

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

was sensational in his last start, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Pirates before settling for a one-hitter and exiting after the eighth. He is 3-0 with a 2.33 ERA and 38 strikeouts over his last four starts. He is 4-1 with a 2.74 ERA in his career against the Mets. … Milone made his first start for the Mets last Wednesday after being claimed off waivers from the Brewers. He received a no-decision after allowing two runs on six hits over five innings. In his career, Milone is 23-21 on the road in 72 career appearances, 65 of them starts.

Coming up

Wednesday: At Chase Field, 12:40 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Patrick Corbin (3-3, 4.17) vs. Mets RHP Matt Harvey (2-3, 5.63).

Thursday: Off.

Friday: At San Diego, 7:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Taijuan Walker (3-3, 3.91) vs. Padres RHP Jered Weaver (0-4, 6.05).

Saturday: At San Diego, 7:10 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Robbie Ray (2-3, 4.57) vs. Padres TBA.