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Diamondbacks can't find key hits, stagger in a slow start to September
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- Diamondbacks can't find key hits, stagger in a slow start to September
The first day of the final month of the season looked for the Diamondbacks ' offense like so many other nights that have come before it. Precious few hits, limited baserunners, little in the way of key hits.
In falling, 7-1, to the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night, Sept. 1, the Diamondbacks were held to two or fewer runs for the sixth time in the past nine games. They scored one run for the second consecutive night – and, two games into this series against the Phillies, are still looking for their first hit with a runner in scoring position.
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It does not help matters that star Corbin Carroll is dealing with what manager Torey Lovullo described as "low back discomfort." Each of the past two days, Carroll has appeared bothered by something; on Tuesday night, he did not appear to be moving well in the outfield and at one point was seen wincing after a swing.
But, Lovullo said, Carroll will persist. He is expected to be back in the lineup on Wednesday afternoon for the series finale.
"I just had a conversation with the medical team trying to figure out if it's the right thing to do to get him off his feet," Lovullo said. "Corbin wants to play. He wants to get in there and go out and play. I'm fine with that. That's how he's wired."
Lovullo said it is the time of year when many of his players are grinding through discomfort. It is also the time of year when losses seem to carry extra meaning.
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The Diamondbacks again missed a chance to gain ground in the wild-card race. They remain a half-game back of the San Diego Padres for the National League's third and final playoff spot.
"We've got to flush this game," Lovullo said. "It stunk. We know we're in a race and we've got to start to win some baseball games. We're not going to win baseball games unless we play our game, our way, focus on our dugout, our strengths and what we're good at. If we do that, we're going to be just fine."
Phillies lefty Jesus Luzardo allowed just one run over 6 2/3 innings. Of the six hits he allowed, five were singles, the lone exception being Jordan Lawlar's solo homer in the fifth.
The Diamondbacks remain near the bottom of the league in production at a variety of positions.
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No team has worse numbers out of their first basemen; the Diamondbacks rank 28th in the majors out of their designated hitters and 27th in left field.
Their issues in those areas are more pronounced when the team cannot come through when it matters most.
Over the past two games, the Diamondbacks have gone 0 for 13 with men in scoring position. They have stranded a combined 17 runners. On the season with runners in scoring position, the Diamondbacks rank 16th in the majors with a .746 OPS and 21st with a .242 average.
Lovullo rattled off a laundry list of considerations he wants his hitters to have in mind when they take at-bats in those situations. Swinging at the right pitch. Staying balanced and behind the ball. Focusing on the center of the diamond. They are things, he said, he knows his team is doing.
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"I know all that's happening," he said. "We're just getting beat and we've got to be better."
As for Carroll, Lovullo does not believe the back issue explains any recent struggles. Carroll went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts on Tuesday.
"He has not complained about it (his back) one time," Lovullo said. "I think he's got to swing at good pitches. If he's swinging at the pitches that he's looking for, he's going to impact the baseball. That's the same as anybody.
"You're only as good as the pitches you're swinging at."
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Corbin Burnes to get one more rehab outing
Right-hander Corbin Burnes' next start will not come in the majors but will instead take place at bridge camp later this week, a reversal of what the Diamondbacks had been tentatively planning for their rehabbing ace.
The reason, manager Torey Lovullo said, is tied to bullpen preservation. Burnes threw only 17 pitches in his two-inning rehab start with Triple-A Reno over the weekend, then threw another 15 pitches in the bullpen.
If Burnes were to make his next start in the majors, he likely would be able to log only two or three innings.
The Diamondbacks already are preparing for their bullpen to take on a heavy workload on Wednesday, Sept. 2, in the series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies. If Burnes had slotted in on Friday, Sept. 4 — the team is off on Thursday — it would have meant back-to-back days with a heavily taxed bullpen.
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"We have a spot on Wednesday in our rotation that is a little bit of an unknown," Lovullo said. "I want to believe that Jose Cabrera can go out there (on Wednesday) and dial it up, but we might get a little bit tapped out and we're going to go into a situation on Friday where Corbin could probably give us 40 to 50 pitches and we would have to guard him a little bit and we might get tapped out in back-to-back outings."
Instead, Burnes will pitch on Thursday in a so-called "bridge camp" game, likely with a pitch count in the 40 to 50 range.
Lovullo said it would be a "fair assumption" that Burnes would make his long-awaited return to the majors after that, which would line him up to pitch next week in Kansas City.
Ketel Marte's hat choice raises eyebrows
Second baseman Ketel Marte was again a topic of conversation on Tuesday, Sept. 1, a day after he played in his first game since not showing up to the ballpark in Boston two weeks ago.
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This time, the questions were about the hat he wore during his postgame interview Tuesday night. The bright yellow hat had the words, "May the bridges I burn light the way."
"I don't know," Lovullo said when asked about the hat. "I want to move past this Ketel stuff as quickly as possible. I think if you chop up those words, maybe he's taking some accountability. He feels like he has done some things and he wants to get better. That's how I read it."
Not long after Lovullo's session with reporters, Marte hit a 113-mph line-drive homer into the bullpen area in left field, where it struck a member of the grounds crew. Marte left the batting cage and jogged down to the bullpen to check on the man, who seemed to be OK.
Players were reluctant to say much on the record about Marte's words to the team during a pregame meeting a day earlier.
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"We're just moving forward," third baseman Nolan Arenado said. "He's here, he's ready to help us win ballgames. And that's it. To be quite honest, I've gotten tired of talking about it. I'm not going to talk about it anymore.
"But he's here, we want the best for him, we want the best for this group, and he makes our group better. So we just want to go out there and compete."
Diamondbacks add bat, arm as rosters expand
The Diamondbacks added outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and left-hander Blake Walston to their roster on Tuesday as rosters expanded to 28 with the start of September.
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Gurriel figures to see time against left-handed pitching, Lovullo said, though Gurriel was not in the lineup on Tuesday night against Phillies lefty Jesus Luzardo.
Gurriel had a tough time on his rehab assignment with Triple-A Reno, going just 3 for 28 (.107) in eight games.
Once Walston gets in a game, it will mark his first appearance in a major league game since Sept. 24, 2024. Walston underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2025.
Ryne Nelson making progress toward return
Right-hander Ryne Nelson threw a 21-pitch live batting practice session on Tuesday, his first time facing hitters since landing on the injured list in June with a right elbow strain.
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Nelson said his next outing likely will come in a minor league rehab game.
"I think there's still time for me to come back and have an impact and help this team to get us to where we want to go," Nelson said. "Hopefully we're playing for another month and a half, two months."
The Diamondbacks have talked about using Nelson as a multi-inning reliever once he returns from the IL.
Coming up
Wednesday, Sept. 2:At Chase Field, 12:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Taylor Clarke (2-3, 2.60) vs. Phillies RHP Andrew Painter (3-8, 5.95).
Thursday, Sept. 3:Off.
Friday, Sept. 4:At Houston, 5:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (9-12, 5.08) vs. Astros RHP Cristian Javier (1-5, 6.45).
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Saturday, Sept. 5:At Houston, 4:15 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (7-2, 3.49) vs. Astros RHP Peter Lambert (8-7, 3.66).
(This story has been updated to add information.)
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks can't find key hits, stagger in a slow start to September
