Diamondbacks Unravel Late Against the Cardinals

The Diamondbacks offense failed to get the big hit against Lance Lynn, which came back to haunt them on a bad night from the bullpen.

Apr 22, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt (32) is removed from the game by manager Torey Lovullo (17) during the sixth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. / Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Five innings into this game, it looked like the Diamondbacks had complete control. They had a three-run lead and Brandon Pfaadt had retired 15 of the first 16 hitters faced. However, the final four innings spiraled out of control for the D-backs, as their offense and bullpen failed to execute in a close and late game once again in a 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

"I feel like we let the Cardinals hang around, we let them just linger," said D-backs manager Torey Lovullo. "I sensed that Brandon was in control of this game, we had opportunities to really break this open offensively. We didn't, we let a baseball team hang around. If you do that at this level, they're going to strike back."

The game has followed a frustrating pattern that has plagued Arizona, who is 5-10 in games decided by three runs or fewer. They scored three runs off Lance Lynn, who struggled with command in this game. Eugenio Suárez was the catalyst, going 3-for-3 against Lynn with two doubles, two RBI, and a run scored. They had opportunities to plate tack-on runs, with a runner at third and less than two outs in both the second and fifth innings off Lynn, but failed to score the runner.

On the mound, Pfaadt looked like he was in complete control. He retired the first 12 batters of the game and was in cruise control entering the sixth inning. Out of nowhere, he walked the first three hitters and put the Cardinals in a situation to hit their way back into the game. After retiring Willson Contreras on a shallow fly ball to center, Lars Nootbar singled through the left side of the infield to put St. Louis within a run. That would spell the end of Pfaadt's night, with the bullpen needing to get 11 outs to close out the game.

"I thought there was a mound visit, there were some things that showed me that he was able to get back in the zone. It just didn't happen. He fills up the strike zone, he's a strike thrower deluxe, and it got away from him."

It looked promising at first, as Scott McGough induced an inning-ending double play to the first batter he faced. The second batter he faced, Paul Goldschmidt, hammered a 92 MPH fastball that split the middle of the zone to right center for a game-tying home run.

Joe Mantiply and Ryan Thompson finished the seventh and eighth innings. However, Thompson gave up a single to Goldschmidt to lead off the ninth, and Lovullo summoned left-hander Kyle Nelson from the bullpen. Nolan Gorman, who came off the bench as a defensive replacement earlier in the game, crushed a first-pitch slider deep into the right field bleachers to seal it.

The D-backs return to Busch Stadium for the second game of the series. Left-hander Tommy Henry is expected to start after being brought up to the taxi squad ahead of the game. The Cardinals will send left-hander Steven Matz to the mound. First pitch will be at 4:45 PM Arizona time.

Since Henry is ineligible to be recalled except to replace an injured player, there will be a corresponding move involving the 15-day IL. Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic reports that Merrill Kelly is most likely headed to the IL, but an unnamed reliever is dealing with an injury.

Tommy Henry will start tomorrow, Torey Lovullo says. That means there’s an IL move coming. Lovullo said Merrill Kelly is “most likely” headed to the IL but also that there’s an injury to a reliever.

— Theo Mackie (@theo_mackie) April 23, 2024