Diamondbacks continue having trouble stopping crooked innings vs. Braves

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks continued an unsightly early-season trend in Thursday’s 17-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves: giving up crooked numbers.

Through six games entering Thursday, 23 of 27 runs allowed by the Diamondbacks came across in five monster innings. They allowed at least four runs in each of the five frames and were mostly sterling on the mound otherwise.

The D-backs played the ugliest inning of their season on Thursday, allowing eight runs in the fifth to turn a tight 2-1 ballgame into a 10-1 rout.

“I can’t explain it,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “We’ve got to figure that out. We’ve got to stop the bleeding. Somebody’s got to make a great play. Somebody’s got to make a great pitch and we’ve got to get in the dugout.”

Twelve Braves hitters came up to bat in the fifth inning, and there was not even a hit until the seventh batter.

It started with a challenge, as a strike three call to Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies was overturned to ball four. It is a new dynamic for pitchers or hitters to compose themselves after a big call quickly goes the other way.

D-backs starter Ryne Nelson recorded the next out but walked Dom Smith. That’s when the inning and the game turned, as a sharp grounder to the left side was bobbled by typically stellar third baseman Nolan Arenado to loaded the bases.

Nelson walked in a run, but it seemed the damage was done as Drake Baldwin bounced into a double play. The Braves challenged the call, and Baldwin was safe at first.

The inning then got out of control. Nelson allowed a double to Matt Olson and reliever Kevin Ginkel failed to stop the scoring run by allowing three more hits and a walk.

“It looked to me like he was setting up his feet and just came off over the ball because I think he was going to try to throw that ball to second base,” Lovullo said of the Arenado error.

“I haven’t looked at it. I think it was a little bit of a slow developer,” Lovullo added about the double play that was overturned.

The Diamondbacks won Wednesday’s game against Detroit on the backs of pitching and defense, shutting out the Tigers 1-0 behind a gem from Zac Gallen and series of excellent defensive plays to keep runs off the board.

They somehow put together an opposite performance on Thursday, snapping a three-game winning streak.

It was also another instance where not rostering a left-handed reliever may have bit them. Nelson faced Olson again after the latter homered earlier in the game, and that could have been a spot to call on a more favorable matchup. Lovullo said he considered getting Ginkel in the game to face Olson but trusted Nelson in that spot.

Overall, the Diamondbacks’ pitching staff walked eight batters, as the Braves scored 12 runs through six innings with only eight hits. Arizona pitchers threw 99 strikes and 78 balls through eight innings.

“The obvious thing is throwing more strikes and not walking people,” Nelson said after walking three hitters. 

On the overturned strike three call, Nelson said, “It’s unfortunate that, for me, it turns the strikeout into a walk that eventually leads to a pretty nasty inning. But, personally, I’m not feeling some type of way because it got overturned. I’m more frustrated that I walked him.”

Torey Lovullo on the overturned strike 3 call to lead off the 5th inning: pic.twitter.com/TwE8OOzbEc

— Alex Weiner (@alexjweiner) April 3, 2026

With the game firmly out of reach, Arizona started pulling starting players off the field, and catcher James McCann pitched the ninth inning.

McCann just lobbed pitches over the plate at 40 mph and gave up the next four-plus-run inning, giving the Diamondbacks seven in as many games.

“We’ve got to put the ball on the plate. We’ve got to follow game plans,” Lovullo said. “We’ve got to do all the things that we know we can do, what we have done in the past. And it’s about execution. That’s really the bottom line. So if we don’t execute, you’re going to have days like this.”

The Diamondbacks continue the series on Friday at 6:45 p.m. MST with Eduardo Rodriguez on the hill. Right-hander Grant Holmes will throw for Atlanta.

Torey Lovullo said when the Diamondbacks don't execute, they're going to have days like Thursday's 17-2 loss to the Braves. pic.twitter.com/xsgdQwD0tw

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) April 3, 2026

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