How did Mitch Bratt pitch in MLB debut for Diamondbacks?

Arizona Diamondbacks pitching prospect Mitch Bratt made took the mound for his MLB debut on Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals and threw three competitive innings for a team in need of a good start.

The Diamondbacks gave Bratt the ball due to injuries in the rotation — along with his success in Triple-A Reno— and he allowed one earned run at Busch Stadium to keep the game tight early.

The Diamondbacks’ offense backed him up in a 9-4 victory to improve to 41-39.

Wednesday was Bratt’s second start since coming off the injured list with a minor shoulder issue, which explains his low pitch count at 54.

The D-backs have called up two pitchers to debut in the past four days after injuries to Michael Soroka and Ryne Nelson, as Jose Cabrera filled in with five shutout innings on Sunday against the Minnesota Twins.

Bratt’s pitch count climbed early, and a lead-off walk in the second inning bit him. Otherwise, he handled himself in his first impression. He attacked the zone by throwing two-thirds of his pitches for strikes, which has been his calling card.

His stuff is not overwhelming, but he has shown an ability to command it and compete by drawing weak contact.

The lefty drew seven whiffs — four with his slider — and struck out three batters in his three frames. He allowed two hits and two walks.

After Bratt came off the field, Arizona scored six runs in the fourth inning to take a commanding lead, 6-1.

Mitch Bratt has his first MLB strikeout 🎉@dbacks | @milb | #Aceball pic.twitter.com/w0qhZnWlwL

— Reno Aces (@Aces) June 25, 2026

Overall, the Diamondbacks’ prospects called into starting duty threw eight innings with one earned run in positive first cracks at the big leagues.

The bullpen filled in six innings with four pitchers on Wednesday night.

Diamondbacks’ LuJames Groover hits 1st MLB home run, goes back-to-back with Ketel Marte

Rookie LuJames Groover slammed his first major league home run during the six-run fourth inning.

Ketel Marte went back-to-back with Groover off Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore, as the D-backs continued to find success against southpaws. They are 15-6 against left-handed starters.

Groover, who made his MLB debut on June 5, has not hit the ground running in the major leagues with a .175 average entering Wednesday, but he has knocked an extra-base hit in three of his last four games.

LuJames Groover launches his first big league homer for the @Dbacks! pic.twitter.com/cJzRnMQTFw

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 25, 2026

Groover’s teammates gave him the silent treatment in the dugout.

Grooup hug! https://t.co/gLEoFarvuM pic.twitter.com/WyQONYcf5l

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) June 25, 2026

The prospect is not known as a home run hitter, but he did exactly what he needed to do on a hanging cutter from the southpaw, crushing it to the bullpen in left field. Then, Marte hit a ball over the bullpen.

The Diamondbacks had not gone back-to-back since Marte and Corbin Carroll did so on April 29 against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Diamondbacks find a spark on offense

The D-backs piled on from there, totaling 12 hits with all nine starters recording at least one. It was the third instance this season when every D-backs starter recorded a hit.

The Diamondbacks need their offense to be more consistently threatening than it has been lately to help make up for the pitching injuries.

Arizona scored eight runs over its three-game losing streak entering Tuesday and did not score until the ninth inning of that game. The D-backs plated four ninth-inning runs to beat the Cardinals on Tuesday and rolled that success into Wednesday (after the first three innings).

What was encouraging about Wednesday’s game was that the top four did not dominate, the offense was balanced and received contributions from everyone. Beyond the 12 hits, Arizona walked five times, and notably, it went 5-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

Marte, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Tommy Troy earned multi-hit days, while Groover and Gabriel Moreno reached base three times with a pair of walks each.

Related

Kohl Drake to make MLB debut for Diamondbacks Tuesday vs. A’sDiamondbacks disappoint by following historic comeback with loss to struggling AthleticsDiamondbacks’ Nolan Arenado joins 2,000-hit club: ‘I’m happy to do it here’Diamondbacks sign top MLB Draft picks Ryder Helfrick, Blake BryantDiamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll out of Monday’s lineup vs. A’sHow the Diamondbacks managed their ‘best win of the year’