Eduardo Rodriguez great against Astros before Diamondbacks’ late-inning collapse

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks squandered 6.1 shutout innings from starter Eduardo Rodriguez, as failures from the bullpen and the offense with runners in scoring position cost them Tuesday’s game against the Houston Astros.

After sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals out of the All-Star break, the D-backs dropped a crucial series with the trade deadline bearing down on July 31. There are seven games left until then, and the D-backs are 5.5 games back of a postseason spot.

Houston rookie Brice Matthews — who hit two home runs off Zac Gallen on Monday — cracked a go-ahead, two-run shot off reliever Jake Woodford in the eighth inning.

Arizona rallied to load the bases in the ninth off Astros closer Josh Hader, but it failed to score. The game ended on a Jose Herrera double play after a sliding stop by Matthews.

And now Brice Matthews starts a game-ending double play! https://t.co/XpsiCjTWM8 pic.twitter.com/gRQ87THX37

— MLB (@MLB) July 23, 2025

Arizona went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

The Diamondbacks (50-52) entered this series on a four-game winning streak and back at .500, looking hungry to make a final push before the trade deadline to influence the front office.

Manager Torey Lovullo said he felt like his team let Monday’s 6-3 loss slip away. That was certainly the case on Tuesday.

“It was a gut punch today, for sure,” Lovullo said. “You’re six outs away from winning a baseball game and everything’s going in the right direction. And within two innings it’s totally reversed.”

Rodriguez dueled Astros southpaw Framber Valdez into the seventh inning with a 1-0 lead, but that was when the wheels started to fall off for the D-backs.

What happened in the 7th inning?

Randal Grichuk and Geraldo Perdomo led off the bottom half with singles off Valdez, and Blaze Alexander bunted them over. Lovullo said Alexander squared around on his own accord, and once he showed bunt, Lovullo put the sign on.

Herrera was on deck, the nine-hole hitter batting .190 this season. Herrera bounced a ball to third base, and pinch runner Alek Thomas was cut down at the plate.

Lovullo explained Thomas was running on contact.

“ Thomas was going on contact because a couple things,” Lovullo said. “A couple of infielders have a little trouble throwing the baseball, organizing their feet and those are things we pay attention to. … The pressure’s on, go out and make the play, they did.”

He also explained wanting to avoid having first base open for the Astros to walk Ketel Marte intentionally. Marte received the opportunity to hit, and he struck out.

As for why Herrera was left in the game to hit in such a critical spot when James McCann, Jake McCarthy and Adrian Del Castillo were on the bench, Lovullo said he trusted Herrera’s ability to work an at-bat.

“ I like Jose’s at-bat,” Lovullo said. “He’s got a solid, good quality at-bat. I felt like that was a part of my gameplan at that point. I wanted to extend the lead. I was looking to really drive it up to a certain level. I felt like I was looking for a big crooked number there.”

Herrera walks at a very good 12% clip, and he’s batting .256 against lefties. Was he the best option to put up there in that moment? That’s a tough sell.

McCann was the sole right-handed bat off the bench. The veteran catcher has not been a plus hitter for all of his career, certainly, but he has been hot since joining the D-backs with a .375 batting average in 40 plate appearances.

What happened in the eighth inning?

The D-backs pulled Rodriguez with one out in the seventh after a comebacker hit him on the inside of his leg. Rodriguez said he was fine, and he waved Lovullo and the athletic trainer off. He was still removed from the game.

“He was okay. Probably could have gone a little bit extra, but I felt like he had done his job at that point,” Lovullo said. “It was time to turn it over to the bullpen, especially with that matchup I liked with (Kevin) Ginkel.”

Ginkel completed the seventh inning with 14 pitches.

Having used their high-leverage arm to face the top of Houston’s order, Lovullo called on Woodford for the eighth to take on a righty-heavy slate. After a one-out walk, Woodford hung a first-pitch sweeper to Matthews, who nailed it.

What happened in the ninth inning?

The ninth inning was dramatic for both sides.

Woodford stayed in the game and gave up a couple hits, exiting with two on and two outs. Lefty Kyle Backhus entered, got ahead 0-2 of Victor Caratini and plunked him.

With the bases loaded, a sweeper got away from Herrera, bringing home an insurance run. Arizona challenged whether Jose Altuve dove in safely, and the call stood.

With everything going wrong, the Diamondbacks mustered one more rally.

Josh Naylor, McCann (ironically) and Perdomo each singled to start the inning against Hader. Naylor may have been able to score on Perdomo’s single, but the stop sign was shown to avoid risking an out. McCarthy had to step on the breaks and dive back into second base, as it looked like the tying run would get 90 feet away.

Alexander struck out, bringing Herrera back up with one down. Del Castillo at this point was the only option on the bench. He has yet to face a major league lefty this season, but he has started 5-for-12 at the plate.

The D-backs stuck with Herrera, and he hit the ball hard to the right side for the game-ending double play, painfully with Marte and Corbin Carroll due up next.

Eduardo Rodriguez pitches well

Rodriguez danced around six hits and three walks during his outing, as four of the six hits were infield singles. He did not allow an extra-base hit, avoiding the back-breaking gapper or home run. Monday was his longest scoreless appearance with the club.

“ I feel like that was the best I’ve felt with my fastball all year,” Rodriguez, who had not started since July 10, said. “I was working all these 12 days on my mechanics and I feel like I finally found it.”

Valdez finished with seven innings and one earned run. The Astros are 13-0 in his last 13 appearances.

Up next for the Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks will play their final home game before the trade deadline on Wednesday afternoon to wrap up this series. They will then begin a nine-game road trip in Pittsburgh, Detroit and Sacramento.

Brandon Pfaadt gets the ball on Wednesday for the Diamondbacks after blanking the St. Louis Cardinals through seven innings in his last start.

First pitch is at 12:40 p.m. MST. 

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