PHOENIX – Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was happy with starter Brandon Pfaadt's outing against the San Diego Padres on Saturday. Everything else at Chase Field was “unsatisfactory,” from offense, defense, fielding and baserunning.
The Diamondbacks were outscored 13-1 after the Padres put up eight runs in the seventh as they have been outscored 28-2 over the past three games. Arizona has gone six straight without winning a set.
“I sit here every day and try not to be tone-deaf about what I'm seeing and what you guys are seeing,” Lovullo said.
“I know there's nothing more frustrating than me sitting here and saying everything is great when it's not. … You go to work, you have a bad work week. It happens. We've got to find a way to close that gap when we're not playing good baseball, find a way to win a game, get through tough times, regroup and do something good. happen.”
From the start, the Diamondbacks (14-20) had their way against Padres starter Michael King. Jake McCarthy led off with a single and picked off first, making it 1-0.
Ketel Marte singled to right field, but Fernando Tatis Jr. delivered a hit to first base to catch Marten off the bag.
“You can imagine what it did to us, it was very exploitative,” Lovullo said.
Ketel Marte rounds the base, so Fernando Tatis Jr. jump after him for the exit! pic.twitter.com/E1mz03A1Lt
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 5, 2024
Pfaadt started to cruise, but Blaze Alexander's error on a potential double play in the fourth inning led to two unearned runs.
The score was still 3-0 through six innings, and Lovullo retired Pfaadt for the fourth time in the order. Reigning NL hitting champion Luis Arraez picked up his fourth hit of the game in his Padres debut after a trade to the Marlins, and Fernando Tatis Jr. singled to end Pfaadt's day. At that point the game got out of control.
Brandon Hughes recorded one out before allowing four straight hits, including a Jurickson Profar home run. Bryce Jarvis came in, had a hit and gave up a three-run shot to Ha-Seong Kim.
Pfaadt's ledger closed with six innings, five runs (three earned), 10 hits and no walks — he wasn't thrilled about giving up eight hits to lefties.
San Diego (18-18) rallied on a pair of runs by Scott McGough in the ninth, and Arizona avoided a second shutout in three games with a Gabriel Moreno RBI single in the bottom inning.
Diamondbacks struggling to score
When asked what was most frustrating, Lovullo addressed the offense. Arizona had an 0-for-11 stretch and another 0-for-9 in this game. The Diamondbacks have scored 16 runs over their last nine games.
Torey Lovullo would like to see “more consistent play” from his D-backs.
“Our offense just didn't execute.” pic.twitter.com/1gqsAwH44f
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) May 5, 2024
“I feel like offensively we can have more consistent at-bats,” Lovullo said. “Get into the box, control the climate of the bat and dictate the pace at which the pitcher will operate. We're giving away a lot of nightsticks.”
“It's been a pretty horrible little stretch for us,” outfielder Corbin Carroll added. “I think everybody's doing their best not to get too attached to their results and just make sure we're focusing on taking the things we can from it and learning from it.”
Calm posture
Lovullo said his players have the care and smarts to stay level and evaluate.
Carroll added that there are lessons to take away from last season, when the D-backs crawled through a 5-20 stretch to make the postseason.
“We've been through this before, every team in baseball has,” Carroll said. “I guess I just don't try to ride those waves. There will be a lot going for us this season. There will be times like that, but just try to stay super level.”
“I think we're very frustrated with ourselves and especially with the way that game went,” Pfaadt said. “Of course, we're a better team, we know that and we're looking to get that back.”
Torey Lovullo compared the Diamondbacks' last week (four losses in their last five games) to “a bad week at work.” pic.twitter.com/kbPQ7v4fFG
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) May 5, 2024
Corbin Carroll fixes
Carroll finished 1-for-4 as he continues to search for answers offensively. He said he broke out of his post-All-Star break funk last year by being more aggressive swinging at “everything.”
“This time it doesn't seem like the answer,” Carroll said. “There have been some mechanical things that I've been trying to address. I feel like we're going in the right direction and the coaches feel like we're going in the right direction.”
He said his swing has become too flat, so work is needed to create better angles. Opposing pitchers are hustling him, which has worked so far.
Diamondbacks next game
Ryne Nelson will come off the injured list Sunday for his first start since April 18 (elbow injury), and the D-backs will make roster moves in the morning.
Right-hander Matt Waldron will start for San Diego, so the D-backs will see some knuckleballs.
First pitch is at 1:10pm on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.
