Diamondbacks' Offense, Bullpen Falter in Loss to Cardinals

The Arizona Diamondbacks were the victims of a sweep at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals, falling by a score of 4-3 in the series finale. Brandon Pfaadt gave his team a chance to win, but the bullpen coughed up a late run, and the offense couldn't come away with the big hit once again. It was the first time the D-backs had been swept this season.

Pfaadt pitched 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk. He punched out five, falling just one out short of a Quality Start. He collected 11 whiffs, six coming on the sweeper. But although he was spotted an early lead, he allowed St. Louis to stay in the game, giving up a run in each of the first, third and sixth innings.

The D-backs got to right-hander Sonny Gray in the first inning to give Pfaadt that lead. Ketel Marte slapped a single, Josh Naylor doubled and Eugenio Suárez plated two with a bloop single that dropped in right field.

However, a two-out double and an RBI single in the home half of the first halved that lead. After a scoreless second, Pfaadt surrendered a game-tying homer to shortstop Masyn Winn. The D-backs would take a 3-2 lead on a Suárez double and Pavin Smith RBI single in the sixth, but the trouble truly began for Pfaadt just a half inning later.

The right-hander allowed a walk and a single to lead off the inning. A sacrifice fly then tied the game. With two outs, manager Torey Lovullo turned to Kevin Ginkel, who kept the contest tied.

After a weak infield single made its way to second base, Ginkel was lifted for left-hander Jalen Beeks to face Victor Scott II. Scott hit a hard ground ball to Marte, who couldn't snag the 101 MPH ball. It was admittedly a tough play, but one that cost Arizona, as the Cardinals took a 4-3 lead that would ultimately stand up.

The D-backs' offense, other than a solid first inning, once again couldn't find the big knock when they needed it most. They were a rough 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position (stranding nine) despite out-hitting St. Louis 10-8. Suárez finished 3-for-4 with two RBI, and Smith went 2-for-3. Naylor and Alek Thomas each doubled.

They managed a leadoff double and a hit-by-pitch with no outs in the ninth against Phil Maton with Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley down, but Arizona's top three hitters then went down in order, failing to plate the tying run and stranding runners at second and third base.

"We're all frustrated. We're all extremely frustrated," Lovullo told Dbacks.TV's Jody Jackson postgame. "I think when you get into that state of mind you want to be the guy, you want to you want to say 'I'm the one that's going to get this one to turn for this group and you get outside of yourself a little bit, and you don't stay with your approach.

"There's frustration in the coach's room. There's frustration in the players' space. We're going to get this thing turned around, but it's just it's tough to stomach right now. ... We create our own situations. We are proactive instead of reactive. I want us to control the climate and go out there and duke it out. That's what D-back baseball is all about and we'll get there," Lovullo said.

The D-backs' recent losing streak expands to five games, and they drop below .500 at 26-27. They'll head back home to Chase Field to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates for three games beginning Monday.