Ray won his final six regular-season decisions in 2017 after missing a month with a concussion suffered when he was struck in the head by a line drive in St. Louis on July 28. Then last Wednesday Will Grier Jersey , he spun six scoreless innings in a 2-1 victory over Florida in his first start after missing 58 days with an oblique injury.

Ray will face the Cardinals again on Monday, in the first game of a three-game series at Chase Field. Right-hander Carlos Martinez will start for the Cardinals.

“Obviously, I’m not going to go out there if I don’t feel 100 percent,” said Ray, a first-time All-Star in 2017.

“There is a constant line of communication between me and Torey (manager Lovullo). He was open with me. He wanted me to make another rehab start. I made it clear that I felt like I was ready. It felt good to be back on the mound and to be good to put up some zeroes for this team and help us win.”

Both Arizona and St. Louis enter the series after being swept, the Diamondbacks losing three to NL West rival San Francisco and the Cardinals dropping three to NL East-leading Atlanta.

That was only a slight hiccup for the Diamondbacks, whose 19 victories in June tied for the most in the majors. They led the majors with 11 triples and were second in runs in the month. Starting pitchers had 15 victories, also the most in the majors, capped by wins by Ray and Zack Greinke in the final two games of a four-game series in Miami early last week.

The D-backs have lost only two of their last 10 series, both to San Francisco, while recovering from a 2-15 skid in May.

“You are going to have ups and downs Christian Miller Jersey ,” Ray said. “That was a little bit of an extended down, but good teams find a way to break out of that. I feel like we’ve done that this month.

“It’s another thing we have going on. The dynamic in this clubhouse, we are never down on ourselves. Guys were in here playing music every single day. Nothing has changed. We understand that there is a process, and you have to stick with it. The second that you start changing who you are and over-analyzing a little bit, it can weigh on you.

“We just come in there every day like it’s a new day. We prepare every day the same way, and we don’t change anything.”

The Cardinals have been careening a bit. They have lost four in a row after winning four straight, a run that ended another three-game losing streak. They have lost 12 of 18 since peaking at eight games over .500 on June 11.

St. Louis has scored 11 runs in their last four games after clobbering Cleveland’s Corey Kluber, scoring six runs off his in 1 2/3 innings, the shortest outing of his major league career.

Martinez (4-4) won that game, his first in five starts since returning from the disabled list, giving up two runs with eight strikeouts in six innings. He had a 1.62 ERA in eight starts before going on the disabled list and has 6.75 ERA in five starts since returning. His issue has been walks Jordan Scarlett Jersey , 43 in 72 2/3 innings.

The Cardinals have considered moving first baseman Jose Martinez to the outfield in an attempt to increase their run production, but Martinez started at first again Sunday.

“The bat has to be (in the lineup),” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny told reporters over the weekend. “You’ve got a guy who’s been as consistent as anybody we’ve had all season. So you’ve got to find a place for him.

“We’ve never ruled out the outfield. None of that is out of the question. We haven’t featured that yet but it’s something that has been in the conversation. He’s been doing work out there, too. But, right now, it’s how do we improve at first base?”

Carlos Martinez has had good success against Arizona, with a 2.88 ERA in eight appearances. That ERA ranks 20th among active major leaguers with at least 30 innings against the Diamondbacks. Martinez has been even more successful at Chase Field, with a 2.11 ERA, fifth among those with at least 20 innings.

Martinez has given up one homer against the Diamondbacks, that coming to Gerardo Parra in their first meeting. Since then, he has gone 33 1/3 innings without giving up a homer to them.

Ray (3-0) is 1-2 with a 4.60 ERA in four career starts against the Cardinals. He was removed after being struck by Luke Voit liner in the second inning of the July 28 start last season.

ENGLEWOOD David Montgomery Jersey , Colo. (AP) — The Vic Fangio Era began in Denver without one of the Broncos‘ best defenders and a potential contract standoff looming.“Yeah, I won’t be there,” cornerback Chris Harris Jr. texted The Associated Press before the Broncos became the fourth team to start their offseason program.Entering the final season of a five-year, $42.5 million deal he signed in 2015, Harris is due $7.8 million in 2019, after which he’d become an unrestricted free agent.One of the NFL’s most versatile defensive backs, Harris first raised the prospect of a stare-down with general manager John Elway four months ago after the Broncos missed out on the playoffs for the third consecutive year.“It’s late in my career and I can’t waste any years anymore,” said Harris, who turns 30 in June. “It’s time for me to win. I always wanted to retire here and finish my career here, but I’m ready to see what changes and things we do.”Those changes included Vance Joseph’s firing and safety Darian Stewart’s release, which left Harris as the last remaining original member of the “No Fly Zone” defense that helped the Broncos win Super Bowl 50.Elway Riley Ridley Jersey , who signed two defensive backs in free agency, has said he would like to work out a new deal with Harris after the draft later this month.Elway signed cornerbacks Bryce Callahan (three years, $21 million) and Kareem Jackson (three years, $33 million) in free agency last month. Jackson’s deal includes salaries of $11 million in 2020 and $10 million in 2021, and he turns 31 this month.Jackson was the best cornerback on the market, and pairing him with Harris gives Fangio enviable flexibility in coverage as both cornerbacks can line up in the slot, on the outside or even at safety.With mandatory veteran minicamp two months from now and the start of training camp more than 100 days away, Harris’ absence Tuesday didn’t raise many eyebrows.“I mean, it’s optional, right?” said linebacker Von Miller , who skipped the Broncos’ offseason program following his Super Bowl MVP performance three years ago during a contract stalemate. “We all know what type of pro Chris is on and off the football field Greedy Williams Jersey , and he’s going to be ready to go whenever he’s here. And if he’s not here, he’ll still be ready to go.“We’re talking about ‘Strap’ Harris. So, he can be on Mars and he’s still going to be ‘Strap’ Harris,” added Miller. “He’s going through whatever he’s going through right now and I support him 100 percent. But when it’s time to go, he’s going to be ready to go. This is his ninth year coming up and whatever he has to do to get ready, I’m for it.”Harris is coming off a stellar 2018 season despite missing the last month with a broken right leg.The only NFL player with multiple interceptions in each of the past seven seasons, Harris picked off three passes, returning one for a touchdown, and broke up 10 passes in a dozen games last season before getting hurt at Cincinnati on Dec. 2.The Broncos lost each of their last four games during Harris’ absence. He returned a month later to play in his fourth Pro Bowl, intercepting a pass in the AFC’s 26-7 victory.