DeSclafani gave up three earned runs on five hits over two innings Sunday against the Royals. Though he was hit hard in the game, DeSclafani wasn't discouraged by the results because he remained healthy, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
DeSclafani is still optimistic merely because he made it through the outing without any physical setbacks. "I mean it when I say it - I'm really happy that I'm healthy. Obviously, today didn't go the way I wanted it to," he said. "I'm walking out of here and my arm is feeling great. I felt like I was throwing a lot of strikes. It probably could have been more quality strikes. They put the barrel on the ball and I didn't make good pitches. Some of them found holes. Some of them were hit hard. But that's going to happen. This is my second start out of 17 months I was down when I didn't pitch against big league hitters." Health permitting, DeSclafani is expected to begin the season with a place in the Cincinnati rotation.