“We’re a .500 baseball team, and we’re not happy about it,” Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo remarked after his club suffered a grinding 8-7 loss in 10 innings to the Miami Marlins on Saturday.
The Diamondbacks took a 7-3 lead into the eighth inning with their high-leverage relievers set up to lock it down, but it wasn’t their night. The Marlins fought back with four runs against Jalen Beeks and Shelby Miller to tie the game and force extras.
Lovullo could see the frustration from his players as they entered the dugout after the eighth inning. Miami had just scored three runs to cut the deficit to one.
“It’s human nature, these guys get down, they wanna win games, they wanna close out games,” Lovullo said. “I think everybody was emotionally gassed when that happened in the eighth inning. … I ask them to be mentally tough and I create awareness around that space and I tell them that’s unacceptable.”
It was a “not again” feeling.
The Diamondbacks are amazingly 1-5 this season when they score exactly seven runs. In comparison, the other 29 MLB teams were 119-33 when they scored exactly seven runs entering Saturday. Arizona continues to have too much trouble limiting runs.
The D-backs have 25 saves and 15 blown saves this season with a bullpen ERA of 5.22. Only the Nationals and Athletics have higher bullpen ERAs, while Arizona’s 14 blown saves entering Saturday were tied for the sixth most in MLB.
“It is frustrating,” Beeks said. “We know that, the guys down there, we know that we’ve gotta get better and just execute pitches. We’re not gonna overthink it, but we realize we haven’t pitched the way we should be doing.”
How did the Diamondbacks lose on Saturday?
The Diamondbacks overcame a potentially disastrous first inning defensively, as first baseman Pavin Smith and shortstop Geraldo Perdomo misplayed a pair of grounders that cost Brandon Pfaadt two runs.
Lovullo went out to the mound to tell his team to wake up and lock it in, and Pfaadt dialed up three straight strikeouts to limit the damage. Pfaadt had a nice outing, getting through five innings with two earned runs despite the early stress.
Arizona stormed back with five runs in the fourth inning to take a 6-3 lead off Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara. Ketel Marte delivered the go-ahead, three-run homer, quite a moment to end what has been an emotional week for him. He also reached 500 RBIs with the D-backs, joining a shortlist with Luis Gonzalez and Paul Goldschmidt.
After all of that, the win was set up. Beeks had allowed one run in 10 appearances this month, while Miller had produced three straight scoreless outings after his blown save in Toronto.
Beeks left a fastball over the middle to Otto Lopez in the eighth, who hit a two-run shot that lowered the Miami deficit to 7-5. Agustin Ramirez followed with a ground-rule double on a changeup high in the zone, and he scored on a Liam Hicks single off Ryan Thompson.
“Attacking guys like usual, just the stuff wasn’t quite there, not moving quite right,” Beeks said. “The goal was to be in the zone and I was doing that, just the stuff needs to be better.”
In the ninth, Miami’s Dane Meyers’ aggression on the bases paid off. He led off with a single chopped into left field and stole second. Meyers then took off for third with one out and was called out initially before Miami successfully challenged. He scored on a sacrifice fly.
Juan Morillo, who has now pitched in four of the last five games, allowed a lead-off single in the 10th to Ramirez for the game-winning run.
The offense, meanwhile, went 1-2-3 in the eighth, ninth and 10th innings. Arizona finished Saturday with 10 hits, three from Perdomo atop the lineup.
Arizona (41-41) dropped the series to the Marlins, who have won a season-high six straight games to fight out of last place in the NL East.
The D-backs swept the Marlins on the road earlier this season (with Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk in the bullpen, mind you), and Miami threatens to return the favor. The Marlins have won three straight series at Chase Field dating back to 2023.
Diamondbacks frustrated by hit-by-pitches
Two Diamondbacks were hit in the hand by pitches on Saturday. Catcher James McCann took a 98.5 mph heater from Alcantara off his hand in the second inning and appeared to have no issue.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the seventh was hit by a 91.6 mph fastball from Miami’s Valente Bellozo and stayed in the game.
This is a sore subject for the Diamondbacks, who have lost Corbin Carroll for weeks after he was hit in the hand in Toronto, while Eugenio Suarez missed a couple games after getting hit in the hand in Chicago on Monday.
“I’m starting to lose patience with that, by the way,” Lovullo said. “It bothers me a lot. If you can’t throw the ball inside, don’t throw it there, go to a safe space. It’s not that it’s inside. It’s like neck-high and inside. That’s where it gets really dangerous. That’s where I start to draw the line. It’s really starting to bother me.”
Diamondbacks’ next game
The Diamondbacks will play to avoid a sweep and stay above .500 on Sunday at 1:10 p.m.
Eduardo Rodriguez will pitch for Arizona against Miami right-hander Cal Quantril.
Catch the game on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.
