Facing the American League’s top team, the Diamondbacks competed well but came up short in a 4-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. The starting pitching was solid once again, but the offense went cold on a rainy night in Baltimore.
Brandon Pfaadt gritted through a tough Orioles lineup for six innings, holding them to three runs to record his third quality start of the season. He didn’t record a single strikeout but limited the walks to two. The Diamondbacks now have a major league-leading five losses when their starting pitcher records a quality start and a 12-5 record overall in such games.
The Orioles took a 2-0 lead on Pfaadt in the second, with three base hits off his fastball. He allowed another run in the fifth, despite being only one strike away from a clean inning. Instead, he walked Gunnar Henderson, then allowed back-to-back singles to Adley Rutschman and Ryan O’Hearn that turned into a critical tack-on run for Baltimore.
Arizona’s bats had difficulty with left-hander Cole Irvin, who entered the game with 20 consecutive scoreless innings streak. That ended with two outs in the third when Ketel Marte launched his eighth home run of the year. It was Marte’s fifth from the right side of the plate in 2024, matching his total from 2023.
The Diamondbacks had some late chances to get even in this game, getting runners in scoring position in three of the last four innings. They only had one hit in that situation, a single by Eugenio Suárez that cut the deficit to one run right after Irvin left the game. Suárez had another chance to impact the score, facing left-hander Cionel Pérez with the tying runs on base, and bounced out to third. In the ninth, Gabriel Moreno doubled into the right field corner to bring the tying run up to the plate but the team couldn’t cash in. The Diamondbacks finished the night batting 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base.
The lone positive from this game came from young right-hander Justin Martinez. In a 4-2 game with runners on base, Martinez struck out Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle to escape the seventh. He came back out in the eighth and struck out three of the four batters he faced. All five of his outs were strikeouts and only one unintentional walk. Throwing strikes has been an issue, and while his command still isn’t sharp yet, but it was a big step in the right direction for the flamethrowing right-hander.
The Diamondbacks and Orioles return to Camden Yards to play the second game of the series. Right-hander Ryne Nelson (2-2, 5.23 ERA) takes the mound for Arizona while Baltimore sends left-hander John Means (1-0, 0.00 ERA). First pitch will be at 1:05 PM MST.
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