Bullpen hit hard by injuries, raises alarm for Arizona Diamondbacks

D-Backs closer could be in injury trouble:

A.J. Puk has been one of the biggest pieces for this Arizona Diamondbacks bullpen. Since coming to Arizona, Puk has a 1.32 ERA in 30 appearances. In eight innings on the season so far he has a 3.38 ERA. News came down on April 19th that Puk was placed on the injured list with left elbow inflammation. It is worth noting that Puk mentioned his arm felt tight on his April 17th start in Miami, and that in the coming days, it wasn’t healing. The D-Backs got an MRI done on April 22nd, and without the exact details, it seems they will seek multiple opinions before making any decisions.

Head Coach Torey Lovullo spoke on the matter:

“We want to be as thorough as possible. When imaging is done, you get other opinions. You just want to make sure you hit it right. This is a really important situation. They all are.”

Where is Justin Martinez?

Just last night in a three-run game, the D-Backs turned to Shelby Miller and Juan Morillo, with Martinez nowhere in sight. When asked about it, Arizona Diamondbacks head coach Torey Lovullo explained it could be a “dead arm”, phase and elaborated how Martinez felt fatigue in his right shoulder. Martinez has been incredible for this Snakes ball club, as he hasn’t given up a run, while only allowing three hits and one walk.

It hasn’t been a massive amount of work for Martinez, as he only has pitched in eight of the first 19 games this season. Martinez hasn’t pitched since April 17th, but it could be sooner rather than later when we see Martinez back helping close games for these Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Arizona Diamondbacks take on the Tampa Bay Rays at Chase Field tonight at 6:40 p.m. MST.