Littell served up a two-run homer to Pavin Smith in the third inning to put the Diamondbacks on the board. Tim Tawa then went yard off Littell for a solo homer in the fifth. The 29-year-old right-hander would toss more scoreless innings, ending his day after six with a pair of strikeouts. He’ll take a 5.28 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and a 21/7 K/BB ratio across 29 innings into a start against the Padres in San Diego on Sunday.

It was a nice bounce-back performance for Littell after getting torched for seven runs over four innings last Thursday in a loss to the Angels. He struck out five and also handed out three free passes. A third-inning solo shot by light-hitting infielder David Hamilton accounted for all of the damage against him and was enough to saddle him with a tough-luck loss. He’ll face the Diamondbacks on Tuesday in a challenging road matchup.

Efficient yet unimpressive, Littell did well to complete seven innings in this one despite allowing a four-spot in the third inning. He gave the Rangers a heavy diet of junk around the edges of the plate, but they were aggressive and always seemed to make him pay when he caught a little too much of the plate. They had 10 hard-hit balls in all while Littell forced just five swings-and-misses. With so many short at-bats, he only threw 82 pitches in his seven innings of work. The stuff just isn’t good enough to trust as more than a deep-league streamer when he has a good matchup. He’s scheduled to face the Angels next, which could be a good matchup, although the Rays’ new home at Steinbrenner Field needs to be treated similarly to Yankee Stadium since they each have the same dimensions.