On Friday, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo stated that catcher Gabriel Moreno is making progress and will start Game 1 of the division series if nothing changes.

In the second inning of Wednesday’s wild-card playoff game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Moreno, the team’s promising rookie catcher, was Һit in the head by a pitch from Brice Turang. Moreno complained of dizziness and was taken out of the game as a result.

“He has not entered the concussion protocol,” Lovullo said on Friday. The tests and observations over the past few days have shown that “he continues to improve and show no symptoms at all.”

Moreno’s emergence has been crucial to the success of the Diamondbacks. Since the team had a 57-37 record when he started at catcher during the regular season, manager Torey Lovullo moved him up to the fifth slot in the lineup for both games against the Brewers.

Diamondbacks manager: “I wouldn’t count us out” before another matchup with the Dodgers

Moreno, speaking through an interpreter, stated on Thursday that he had a minor temperature but was otherwise feeling OK.

Saying, “I feel good,” he emphasized his current state of well-being. In other words: “I’m ready to play tomorrow.”

About four minutes were lost to Moreno’s ιnjury while manager Torey Lovullo and a trainer checked on him to see if he should be taken out of the game.

Lovullo appeared to briefly confront several Brewers fans who were booing the lengthy delay in play as he left the field. As Lovullo put it, “not a great fan moment” for Brewers’ fans.

“There are certain tests, questions that the trainer needs to ask him,” Lovullo said. “And you can’t rush that process.” When a teammate is injured, we put our differences aside and work together as one. It’s also possible that we’re one of their players. I worry that the fans have lost some of their objectivity.

In the first game of the NLDS, Merrill Kelly and the Diamondbacks will try to put an end to their nightmares against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Speaking generally about the team’s roster, General Manager Mike Hazen said he anticipated the Diamondbacks to maintain the same ratio of 14 position players to 12 pitchers as they did in the wild-card series, albeit with different players.

We may just — we’ve kind of had some conversations already — discuss a deal involving a position player and a pitching move that would entail bullpen and bench or platoon circumstances. Definitely going to settle that tonight. No major shifts from our current approach are planned.

After spending the entire season in Triple-A Reno, outfielder Jorge Barrosa was invited to spend the final day in Milwaukee before making the trip to Los Angeles with the team.

Kyle Nelson, a left-handed pitcher who was not included on the wild-card roster but is still with the organization, may be a better choice against the Dodgers’ lineup of lefties like Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, James Outman, Jason Heyward, and David Peralta.