Diamondbacks did not play well before All-Star break last year. Can they reverse that?

PHOENIX — The 2025 Arizona Diamondbacks went 4-8 over their last 12 games before the All-Star break, starting a terrible month of July that ended in one of the most aggressive sell-offs in Major League Baseball.

Manager Torey Lovullo does not care to relive that harrowing experience, but his team is in a very similar and dangerous spot one year later.

On July 4, 2025, the Diamondbacks were 43-44, 3.5 games back of the third National League Wild Card spot entering the final stretch before the break.

They entered Saturday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers with the exact same record and a four-game deficit for the third spot. In both cases, the D-backs had three teams separating them from the bracket.

“It’s full throttle. Last year we were in a very similar situation and then I think we were skidding towards the break,” Lovullo said. “I don’t want that to happen. … Nobody wants to go through what we went through last year. I know you guys are going to start asking me the question, are we buyers or sellers? I have no idea. It’s not my department.

“But I didn’t like the way that it felt last year when we had to say goodbye to a lot of really important players. It was a tough month. I’ll remind the guys of that who were here last year. So, let’s grow and learn and not let it happen again.”

Pushing through the tape

The Diamondbacks took two of three games against the lowly San Francisco Giants ahead of this weekend, a matchup with the NL Central-leading Brewers.

In a battle that lasted 11 innings on Friday, the Diamondbacks did a lot right from a bullpen and defensive standpoint, but continued failures to capitalize on offense led to a 7-4 defeat.

In many ways, the game showcased the differences between this year’s team and last, as the 2025 D-backs were among the most powerful offenses in the league with a pitching staff (especially the bullpen) that dragged the operation down. Arizona owned the third-highest scoring offense in the league at this point last year, and they are currently 19th.

Now, the bullpen is the strength of the team, but the onus is on the offense to find more solid ground with injuries plaguing the rotation.

In both cases, injuries became overwhelming in June. In 2025, Corbin Burnes and Justin Martinez went down, while A.J. Puk had a setback that led to surgery. With piling adversity and the trade deadline coming up, the D-backs folded after the break and found new life after the deadline.

This year, Burnes and Puk suffered setbacks, while Ryne Nelson, Michael Soroka and Jordan Lawlar hit the injured list. It is a lot to overcome, but the D-backs have been here before and maintain belief that they can survive better than before.

“These next nine games, we’ve got to win these series,” pitcher Ryan Thompson said. “You just can’t have brutal losing streaks. Those kill you, so we need to have this stretch in July where we stack some wins to give the front office confidence in us to go out and buy and go from there. It’s just like, it’s not going through these big lulls.”

“Well, stay positive and do the small things to win game-by-game,” outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. told Arizona Sports in Spanish.

Looking ahead

The D-backs will face a crucial four-game series against the San Diego Padres, who are lock-step with the Diamondbacks in the standings.

That will be an opportunity for one of those teams to really put the other in a tough spot, and then the D-backs will travel to Dodger Stadium for the final three games of the “first half.”

Lovullo said this may be a time to ride the hot hands when making the lineup, adding to his previous urgency he placed on underperforming veterans, such as Pavin Smith.

“We’ve got to win some baseball games. That’s what it comes down to,” Lovullo said. “I’ve explained to you that it’s now for some guys and we’ve got to start to perform. So, in some cases, it’s kind of king of the court. You get a couple of hits today, you play tomorrow. It’s a space we’re in, in a couple places.

“So, what does that look like, whether it’s a righty or lefty? I’m not sure. We struggle against righties.”

The Diamondbacks have a 16.8% chance to make the playoffs via FanGraphs and 16.9% chance on Baseball Prospectus.

The nature of the third wild card spot will keep the door open as long as the D-backs don’t settle below .500. That means winning series, which is something they have not done consistently since late May.

Can they find something within to push through the break above .500, or will we be talking about transitioning the roster into something else before long?

Related

In most playoff-like game of the year, Diamondbacks rookie Ryan Waldschmidt walks off DodgersMerrill Kelly has cramping issues resurface vs. DodgersD-backs OF Corbin Carroll leaps to unbelievably rob HR vs. DodgersMichael Soroka trending toward Monday return, Jordan Lawlar could be back during upcoming road tripDiamondbacks reliever A.J. Puk out for rest of 2026 seasonDodgers manager: ‘We’re looking forward’ to playing the Diamondbacks