Abysmal Offense Cripples Diamondbacks Once Again

The top of Arizona's order did their part in setting the table. Of the Diamondbacks' seven hits, six came from Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll and Gabriel Moreno. All three of those hitters had two hits, and Carroll provided Arizona's only run of the game with his 12th homer of the season.

But below those big bats, the Diamondbacks could not cash in. Nolan Arenado and Pavin Smith both had opportunities with runners on, and could not come through. The entire 4-8 hitters in the D-backs lineup went hitless, with a Ryan Waldschmidt double providing the only knock outside the top three.

"Frustrating, real frustrating," manager Torey Lovullo said postgame, speaking to D-backs.TV's Jody Jackson. "I walked through the clubhouse, they're quiet. I think they're frustrated too. I think at the end of the day, you've just got to create an awareness, have them understand what they did right and what they did that they've got to improve on.

"It's clear that we're grinding, and it's an extremely tough stretch that we've been on, but nobody makes it better until we make it better. It's a hard game, and nobody's going to hand us anything. We had plenty of opportunities today to do some damage, and we just couldn't get the job done."

And it's particularly tough to see such an offensive performance when Arizona's starter threw the gem that Michael Soroka did Saturday.

Michael Soroka's effort wasted by D-backs' offense

For the second straight start, Soroka threw seven innings of one-run baseball. He struck out seven Reds hitters, allowed only two hits, and did not issue a walk. He gave up an RBI single in the third inning, but rebounded with four scoreless frames.

He did his part to keep the Diamondbacks in the game, as he's done all season. This is just the second time in Soroka's career, dating back to 2019, that he's allowed one or fewer runs and three or fewer hits in back-to-back seven-plus inning starts. His ERA is down to 3.11 on the season.

"He did everything he could possibly do to keep us in this game, and he's been on a great run," Lovullo said of Soroka. "He's executing two or three pitches. He can sequence the right way, and we depend on him to go out there and do the things that he did today."

Arizona's bullpen needed that type of length following Eduardo Rodriguez's bizarre short start on Friday night. Unfortunately, right-hander Juan Morillo gave up a solo home run in the eighth inning that would be the ultimate difference.