Bullpen Haunts Diamondbacks in Extra-Inning Loss to Marlins

PHOENIX -- The Arizona Diamondbacks' bullpen spoiled a solid offensive performance on Saturday, as the D-backs fell to the Marlins 8-7 in extra innings. Brandon Pfaadt settled in for a nice start and his offense spotted him a lead, but poor eighth and ninth innings led to a blown save and the loss.

The Diamondbacks fall to an even 41-41, and lose the series to the Marlins. They will still hold the season series over Miami if they can salvage Sunday's finale, however.

Arizona held a 7-3 lead through seven innings. Relievers Kyle Backhus and Kevin Ginkel threw scoreless innings, but left-hander Jalen Beeks gave up a two-run homer and a ground rule double in the eighth. Ryan Thompson allowed the inherited runner to score to bring Miami within one.

Then, a familiar outcome occurred in the ninth. With a 7-6 lead, Shelby Miller allowed a leadoff single to the nine-hitter, Dane Myers. Myers reached second on a steal attempt that was ruled obstruction by Geraldo Perdomo, then stole third with one out. A sac fly knotted the score at 7-7.

After the D-backs went down in order, Miami immediately plated the ghost runner in the 10th. They failed to move their own ghost runner in the home half.

Arizona Diamondbacks Brandon Pfaadt Settles In

Right-hander Brandon Pfaadt's outing began in an inauspicious manner. Another bout of poor infield defense appeared to be sending Saturday's game in a similar direction to Pfaadt's historic blowup against the Nationals on May 31.

After a leadoff single, Pavin Smith and Geraldo Perdomo made a pair of poor defensive plays. Pfaadt then gave up an RBI double and a walk. That set him up for loaded bases and a 2-0 deficit with nobody out.

However, Pfaadt was able to lock in and deliver three straight punchouts.

The righty would settle in for five quality innings. He allowed five hits and three runs (two earned), but struck out seven batters and walked only one. He threw 86 pitches, 58 for strikes.

As Pfaadt continues to search for stability and consistency, Saturday's game was a step in a positive direction. He generated 12 whiffs and put up three zeroes on the scoreboard. After the rough first inning, an RBI double in the third was his only blemish.

Arizona Diamondbacks Offense Hangs Crooked Number

Arizona's hitters responded to the early 2-0 deficit with a run off Marlins' starter Sandy Alcantara in the first inning, kicked off by a Perdomo double.

The D-backs were held scoreless for two more frames, but unloaded five runs on Alcantara in the fourth to flip a 3-1 deficit into a 6-3 lead. After three singles, star second baseman Ketel Marte clubbed a three-run blast into the left-field bullpen to put an exclamation point on the inning.

Marte finished 1-for-3 with the homer, a sacrifice fly and four RBIs. Perdomo was 3-for-5 with a double, and James McCann (in just his second game as a Diamondback) was 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored.

The Diamondbacks have now lost back-to-back games in which they have scored seven-plus runs. They'll attempt to avoid the sweep on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. behind Eduardo Rodriguez.

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