Saturday, May 31st, 2025 (Nationals 11 – Diamondbacks 7)

ARIZONA – It was a night to forget for Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt, who failed to record a single out and gave up six hits and eight earned runs before being pulled from the game, the shortest outing of his career.

After the game, Pfaadt took full accountability, telling reporters he’s ready to get back to work, figure out what went wrong, and make sure “that it doesn’t ever happen again.” Up until this outing, Pfaadt had been solid at Chase Field, allowing just six earned runs on 27 hits across 30.1 innings, with 25 strikeouts. But after Saturday’s rough start, his season ERA ballooned to 5.05, a disappointing turn for the young pitcher.

Despite the early hole, Arizona’s bullpen stepped up in a big way. Ryne Nelson impressed in long relief, tossing four strong innings, allowing just two hits and striking out one. In total, the D-backs’ bullpen combined for nine innings, surrendering only seven hits and three runs while racking up five strikeouts, a much-needed performance after a rocky stretch of blown leads in recent games.

Manager Torey Lovullo praised Nelson postgame and revealed a shift in the right-hander’s role. Nelson will be transitioning into a high-leverage relief role moving forward, pitching more frequently — around 8–12 appearances per month — rather than being used as a bulk-innings guy. “We’ve got to get things together from a pitching standpoint,” Lovullo said. “And we feel like he’ll give that bullpen a huge boost.” Nelson confirmed he was informed of the change on Friday and was fully prepared, telling reporters, “It’s the job that’s been given to me.”

Offensively, the D-backs attempted to mount a late rally in the eighth inning, bringing some ‘Answerback’ energy to Chase Field. However, a critical decision at third base cut the momentum short. Third base coach Shaun Larkin opted to send Pavin Smith home on a play that ended the inning. Smith was thrown out at the plate for the third out. According to the D-backs’ broadcast, it marked the 11th time this season a runner has been thrown out at home after rounding third.

Lovullo addressed the situation postgame, saying he spoke with Larkin about the decision and reminded him of the need for situational awareness. “You can be aggressive with certain runners, but when you’re down four runs, you need to be more conservative,” Lovullo said. Still, he stood by his coach, adding, “He’s still a young coach and will be an unbelievable third base coach.”

The offense showed signs of life but couldn’t string together enough consistent at-bats to close the gap, a familiar story in this recent slump. The top of the lineup, Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte, and Geraldo Perdomo — went a combined 1-for-13 on the day. Carroll’s struggles continue; over his last 20 games, he’s batting just .185 with 15 hits, 7 RBIs, and more than 40 runners left on base.

Perdomo hasn’t found his early-season rhythm either. In his last 10 games, he’s hitting .225 with nine hits, four RBIs, and 12 runners stranded. While the D-backs’ overall numbers in the past 10 games haven’t been terrible, the team continues to struggle with sequencing, failing to link together productive at-bats when it matters most.

Diamondbacks 5/31 Lineup’s Last 10 Games Played

Name	H/AB	RBI	HR	SO	LOB	AVG
Corbin Carroll	5/39	3	2	11	16	.128
Ketel Marte	12/39	4	3	5	14	.308
Geraldo Perdomo	9/40	4	0	5	12	.225
Josh Naylor	13/42	8	2	5	14	.310
Eugenio Suarez	11/36	4	1	6	24	.306
Lourdes Gurriel Jr	14/39	5	1	7	16	.359
Gabriel Moreno	11/35	6	3	6	13	.314
Alek Thomas	3/22	1	0	9	7	.136
Randal Grichuk	10/24	4	2	2	5	.417

Unfortunately, it was another day to forget for Diamondbacks fans in this 10 game skid. The Diamondbacks will look to avoid the sweep tomorrow against Mitchell Parker, who is 4-4 this season with 40 strikeouts and a 4.65 ERA. Parker relies on four different pitches, a four seamer, a curveball, a cutter and a slider.

Pitch Type	Pitches Thrown	% Thrown	BAA	MPH	K	Hard Hit %
4-Seam	523	53.4	.214	92.7	10	51.9
Curveball	181	18.5	.282	81.5	11	42.9
Cutter	181	18.5	.255	85.0	8	37.5
Slider	95	9.7	.259	85.1	11	43.8

Expect the Diamondbacks to be right-handed batter heavy today, with the last time the Diamondbacks faced Parker, Eugenio Suarez, Randal Grichuk and Ketel Marte all got hits against him with the Diamondbacks walking seven times against him. Now as long as the Diamondbacks are patient, and try not to do to much today, it should be the game they need to turn it around.

The Diamondbacks have been walking far less lately then their average 12 walks per series before this skid started. Which just means that they aren’t waiting for their pitch and trying to make to much happen, way too early. Let’s hope that today is the day that the rough skid stops.

NL West Division Standings

Dodgers (36-22)

Padres (32-24) -3 GB

Giants (32-26) -4 GB

Diamondbacks (27-31) -9GB

Rockies (9-49) -27 GB