Familiar heartbreak: Questionable strategy dooms Diamondbacks’ playoff hopes once again

The Never Say Diamondbacks are dead. All that’s left is a eulogy and some very big decisions.

This much is certain: the team that reached the World Series in 2023 is officially a one-hit wonder. And the Diamondbacks are diabolical when it comes to unhappy endings.

Before the conclusion of a torturous season, the Diamondbacks put their fan base through the ringer one final time. After pulling us back in with a six-game winning streak over the last week of the season, they barfed up a bullpen game on Saturday. A game that felt completely mismanaged from start to finish, from the choice of starting pitcher to deploying rookie Jose Cabrera in a situation for which he was not prepared.

This is not just the clarity of hindsight. Cabrera was blown up by the heart of the Padres order, and it seemed like a very predictable conclusion. It felt like most of the Valley groaned the moment he entered the game. And afterward, they were livid with the manager’s reasoning, and why he didn’t choose Ryne Nelson, whom Lovullo said was available.

“I just felt like I wanted to see what Cabrera could do,” Lovullo said.

Lovullo amended his answer on Sunday morning, stating that Nelson was only available for extra innings. But the bottom line remains the same: For the third time in four years, the Diamondbacks attempted a bullpen game on a day with serious playoff ramifications. All three times we’ve been burned.

Did they have to use Nelson to face two batters in a blowout win on Friday? Wouldn’t he have been a perfect starting candidate?

Compounding the recurring nightmare: The Phillies did all they could to open the door, a team that was getting decimated by the time Saturday’s game began in San Diego. Had the Diamondbacks prevailed, they could’ve clinched a playoff berth with a victory on Sunday. And the questionable strategies muddy the waters regarding the future of Lovullo, who received a strong vote of confidence from President and CEO Derrick Hall before the series started.

“This year is probably his best year,” Hall said.

Elimination is never easy. But since losing the 2023 World Series partly due to an embarrassing bullpen game, the Diamondbacks have been eliminated the Monday after Game No. 162, Game No. 160 and Game No. 162. Brutal stuff for a fan base to digest.

At the beginning of the season, many correctly noted that the final series in San Diego was going to be pivotal, the gateway to the postseason. Given their recent history, we should’ve known it would end with heartbreak.

Reach Bickley at dbickley@arizonasports.com. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on Arizona Sports 98.7.

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