Diamondbacks swept by Marlins, as bullpen performance remains untenable

PHOENIX —  The Arizona Diamondbacks were swept at home in a three-game series by the Miami Marlins.

The Diamondbacks (41-42) blew leads going into the eighth inning on both Saturday and Sunday, as their bullpen allowed at least four earned runs in all three games.

Miami won Sunday’s finale 6-4 after Diamondbacks pitchers walked 10 batters, the defense committed two errors and the offense recorded no hits from the third inning until the eighth.

Starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez provided the bright spot with 5.1 innings and one earned run, but his defense cost him precious pitches that prevented him from getting deeper into the game.

Arizona maintained a 2-1 lead entering the eighth inning, and reliever Jalen Beeks just could not find the strike zone after he allowed three runs on Saturday. He walked the bases loaded with two outs, and Otto Lopez delivered the go-ahead single.

After Arizona opted to intentionally walk right-hander bopper Agustin Ramirez, Kyle Stowers punched a left-on-left double to clear the bases. That’s when manager Torey Lovullo finally pulled Beeks.

“What I saw today was unacceptable,” Lovullo said of the team. “We gotta follow a game plan. Ten walks in one game, we’re never gonna win those games. We gotta find a way to put the ball on the plate. We gotta find a way to pick up the baseball defensively. When we do that, we win games. When we don’t, it looks like that.”

Games are never played in a vacuum, and this was a good example.

Arizona pushed Rodriguez to 108 pitches knowing its bullpen was taxed. Kevin Ginkel and Juan Morillo were both down due to recent workloads. The offense failing to build on its lead meant the bullpen would be put in high-leverage situations.

After Rodriguez, Ryan Thompson and Kyle Backhus bridged the gap. Arizona had Beeks, closer Shelby Miller, long man Anthony DeSclafani and recently-selected John Curtiss available. Thompson walked three batters on Sunday, pushing Backhus into the game earlier than what would have been optimal, as well.

So, Lovullo entrusted Beeks, who owned a 2.92 ERA on Friday. His ERA is now 4.74.

“ I just felt it was a big ticket for (Curtiss) and I wanted to let Beeks work through it,” Lovullo said. “He’s gotten out of it before. … The puzzle was laid down and we had it all mapped out, but it just didn’t come through.”

“ It’s part of the game, I think it’s maybe a mental point,” catcher Jose Herrera said of the walks on Sunday. “We’re just trying to do too much right now. We just gotta make the adjustment. They’re capable to do that.”

The bullpen as a unit was dreadful in this series (12.2 IP, 15 H, 13 ER, 8 BB). The Diamondbacks do not want to use injuries as an excuse, but they have failed to come up with solutions to make up for the losses of Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk to elbow surgeries.

There were plenty of other ugly moments for a team that continues to get in its own way. The Diamondbacks should have gotten Rodriguez out of the fourth and fifth innings quickly on doubleplay-type ground balls but failed both times.

Second baseman Ketel Marte did not make a return throw in the fourth, possibly due to not getting a good grip on the ball with a fast runner moving up the line. With one out in the fifth, third baseman Eugenio Suarez missed a ground ball that could have ended the inning for his second error of the game.

Rodriguez struck out Eric Wagaman to strand the bases loaded, but between those two innings, he threw an additional 21 pitches he probably did not need to. That cost Rodriguez an inning, Lovullo felt, a premium price with the state of the bullpen.

“It’s like the gears of a car,” Lovullo said. “When it’s moving together and player A is doing his job, player B is doing his job, it makes the game run smooth. It doesn’t just have an impact on today. It has an impact on tomorrow.”

The Diamondbacks continue to get in their own way, which led to a particularly maddening weekend series against the Marlins.

"What I saw today was unacceptable." pic.twitter.com/YACsMpRU4I

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) June 30, 2025

Lovullo said the lack of execution defensively this season has been confusing given the work that goes on behind the scenes. The players are out there working hard on defense before every game, and there are still too many days where it does not translate.

The Diamondbacks showed some fight by scoring two runs in the bottom of the eighth, but the hole was too deep.

This was supposed to a stretch in which the Diamondbacks gained ground in the National League Wild Card race. Their last nine games came against the 19-65 Colorado Rockies, 28-56 Chicago White Sox and 37-45 Marlins — who have won seven straight games to climb out of the NL East basement.

The D-backs went 4-5 in these games and fell further behind. Their playoff odds, according to FanGraphs, entering this stretch was 27.8%. Those fell to 18%.

The trade deadline is a month away, and the team performance this weekend did not scream buyer.

“We gotta play up to our standard,” Lovullo said. “I’m certainly frustrated because this year was supposed to be totally different. We’re right there, if we could just start playing our game we’re gonna be okay. So when I watch things happen like they happened today … where we beat ourselves, that’s really frustrating.”

Two of Arizona’s next three series are four-game sets against NL Wild Card competitors. The San Francisco Giants come to Chase Field on Monday, and the D-backs head to San Diego the following week. Those games could go a long way toward figuring out what the D-backs are by the deadline.

"We just gotta get together and go out there and win the next series."

Eduardo Rodriguez addresses the frustration of the D-backs after getting swept by the Marlins. pic.twitter.com/sGsjHHsNUn

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) June 30, 2025

Benches clear

There was a moment of tension in the top of the ninth inning between Herrera and Marlins outfielder Jesus Sanchez.

Sanchez hit Herrera on the backswing and not for the first time. The two exchanged words, bringing the benches and bullpens onto the field.

Nothing much came of it, but Herrera was frustrated by constantly getting hit in the finger or the helmet whenever Sanchez came up to the plate.

“We were just talking,” Herrera said. “I told him I was doing my job and he needed to be careful … It’s part of the game, nothing past the line.”

At least no Diamondbacks were hit by a pitch in this game.

Benches clear in Marlins vs D-Backs pic.twitter.com/czKzf3lLSR

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 29, 2025

What else happened on Sunday?

– Rodriguez’s ERA in five starts since he came off the injured list (shoulder) is down to 1.98 through 27 innings.  ”My shoulder, my body, everything feels great,” he said. “I feel like I got more velocity today, so just working to get my command better.”

– Marte blasted a go-ahead home run in the third off Marlins starter Cal Quantrill, his 17th of the season. Marte and Suarez are the first set of Diamondbacks teammates to each club nine home runs in a single month since Luis Gonzalez and Reggie Sanders hit 10 each in August 2001.

Still no Josh Naylor

First baseman Josh Naylor was absent from the starting lineup for a second straight day after he left Friday’s 9-8 loss with neck stiffness.

“He’s getting very close,” manager Lovullo said pregame. “He’s improving. … He said the right side is just not engaged, can’t quite fire the way he wants to. So he’s probably gonna test it today and we’ll get back to it.”

Naylor previously dealt with right shoulder discomfort.

Diamondbacks’ next series

The Diamondbacks roll right into a four-game series against the Giants, starting at 6:40 p.m. MST on Monday evening. The D-backs won two of three games against the Giants at Oracle Park in May.

Here are the pitching matchups:

Monday: RHP Logan Webb (7-5, 2.52) vs. RHP Ryne Nelson (4-2, 3.71)

Tuesday: RHP Hayden Birdsong (3-2, 4.13) vs. RHP Zac Gallen (5-9, 5.75)

Wednesday: RHP Landen Roupp (6-5, 3.43) vs. RHP Merrill Kelly (7-4, 3.49)

Thursday: LHP Robbie Ray (8-3, 2.75) vs. RHP Brandon Pfaadt (8-5, 5.38)

Catch the game on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app. 

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