Kevin Ginkel, Jalen Beeks allow 7 runs in 8th as Diamondbacks fade vs. Pirates

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks had steady footing through seven innings at Chase Field on Tuesday before they lost it late in a 9-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

With a 6-2 lead entering the eighth, Kevin Ginkel relieved Corbin Burnes and allowed a double on his first pitch. He got just one of the six batters he faced out, and his last pitch was a double that cleared loaded bases.

He left with the game tied, and the first batter Jalen Beeks faced reached on a throwing error by Geraldo Perdomo.

That cost Arizona when Bryan Reynolds, who was 3-for-3 with a walk at the time, homered 405 feet to left center on a 3-1 count, making it a seven-run eighth for Pittsburgh.

“It looks like we probably play the game the right way 70% of the time, and the other 30%, we play confused baseball,” manager Torey Lovullo said postgame. “It’s not just one area or one aspect.

“Everything’s targeting Kevin Ginkel right now, and understandably so, but there were five or six things that happened in this game that we gotta tighten up. When we do that, that’s gonna be D-back baseball. … I’m looking for 100% of a baseball game to be played the right way.”

It marked Arizona’s 12th blown save of the season.

“I really don’t have an answer with how it went. A groundball here and there I was trying to get, and it was just out of reach,” Ginkel said postgame. “It is what it is. We’ll be fine. We’ll keep going. It’s a long season, and just trying to fight each day.”

No Diamondback got on base after the fourth inning. The Pirates entered the game 0-29 when trailing after seven innings, at which point Arizona led by four.

Diamondbacks’ steady 1st 7 innings

Burnes wasn’t at his best, but he still provided seven innings of two-run ball, striking out six and walking two.

“You feel like you’re just totally controlling the climate of the game because of what he’s doing,” Lovullo said. “He was effective with his cutter. We pressed him a little bit to finish that seventh inning, and I thought he did a fantastic job.

“At that point, you turn it over to a bullpen with what you feel like is very favorable matchups, and they just didn’t execute. They didn’t get it done.”

Arizona supported Burnes early with sharp defense, highlighted by a Jordan Lawlar diving grab to save a run.

Layin' down the Law 🤯 pic.twitter.com/E1GiHFTzlR

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) May 28, 2025

Lawlar manned second with Ketel Marte under the weather, and he left the game still searching for his first hit of the season after 15 at-bats. He did manage his second walk of the season, after which he scored.

Nearly every other starter got on the board with a hit, however, as the Diamondbacks made quick work of Pirates starter Mike Burrows.

Corbin Carroll smashed a 393-foot home run to lead off the game, and Burrows labored through the rest of the inning. Arizona couldn’t score more runs despite loaded bases with one out, but it left Burrows at 29 pitches after just one inning.

It was the 25-year-old’s second start and third appearance of his major league career.

Lovullo said pregame it can be a challenge going against a pitcher where there’s not a lot of data or information, but his group knows how to go about that in the right way.

Burrows was on track for the second and third innings before he derailed in the fourth, surrendering a triple, a single and a walk to three straight batters before committing a fielding error that allowed the fourth to reach base.

He then got the hook after 3.1 innings with four earned runs allowed and another unearned.

Diamondbacks look to come away with series win

Arizona is in familiar territory after losing the second game of a series with the Colorado Rockies earlier in the month, needing a win in the finale to come away with the series win against a much lesser opponent.

“I want to play good baseball right now,” Lovullo said. “If it was September, I’d probably be a little bit more frustrated. I guess if there’s a silver lining here is we got a little time to figure this out.

“But I’m kind of impatient, and I’m growing extremely impatient these days. … That’s a pretty damn good baseball team sitting in there playing less than .500 baseball, and that to me is unacceptable.”

The Diamondbacks (27-28) got the win then, but Wednesday will be a tall task with Zac Gallen going against Pirates (20-36) ace Paul Skenes.

Catch all the action at 12:40 p.m. MST on the Arizona Sports app, 98.7 or online.

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