D-backs spotlight Negro Leagues centennial

D-backs manager Torey Lovullo showed up to his pregame Zoom session with the media Sunday wearing a Negro Leagues T-shirt as Major League Baseball celebrated the centennial founding of the Negro Leagues.

Teams throughout baseball Sunday honored the legacy of the men and women who contributed to the Negro Leagues, some of whom are honored in the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City.

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“Obviously, it's a huge day,” Lovullo said. “It's important to the baseball traditions and what we come to know and love. I mean, there are so many incredible pioneers and so many people that made some incredible sacrifices.

“Obviously, my UCLA connection to Jackie Robinson brings me right to his name, but there's other guys like Larry Doby and Buck O’Neil. It's just a special day today. I want to make sure that I'm going to do my best to acknowledge just how special a celebration it is for all of us.”

The D-backs highlighted the Negro Leagues career of the late Joe Black, who was an early employee of the franchise. His daughter, Martha Jo Black, appeared on the FOX Sports Arizona pregame show to discuss his legacy.

The D-backs also placed cardboard cutouts behind home plate that feature youngsters from the D-backs RBI program with several wearing T-shirts featuring the hashtag #TheyPlayedForUs.

In addition, some of the members of the RBI program took part in a virtual first pitch.

“It's awesome to see the work put in to showcase what the Negro Leagues were about,” D-backs closer Archie Bradley said. “With where we're at in this country with everything going on, it's another great [opportunity] for Major League Baseball to showcase the importance of Black lives and what these Black players mean to the game.”

Speaking of Archie …
Bradley allowed three runs on five hits over 1 1/3 innings Saturday in the D-backs’ 7-6 win over the Padres. Both he and Lovullo chalked it up to too many pitches left out over the middle of the plate.

“I just think it was predictability with pitches and then just misfires,” Lovullo said. “The fastball was aggressive. All the numbers [advanced metrics] were great, but he was throwing fastballs in the middle of the zone and he did that to some really good hitters.”

Bumgarner to throw
D-backs left-hander Madison Bumgarner, who is on the injured list with a mid-back strain, is scheduled to throw a 50-pitch simulated game Monday.

Lovullo said the team will see how Bumgarner comes through that before deciding what the next step will be. Initially, the team thought he would miss two starts, the first of which was Saturday against the Padres.

Payamps recalled
The D-backs recalled right-hander Joel Payamps from their alternate training site Sunday and placed right-hander Jeremy Beasley on the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder strain.

Beasley made his big league debut against the Rockies on Aug. 11. It was his only appearance since being called up a few days earlier.

Payamps made his big league debut last year and appeared in two games for the D-backs.