Diamondbacks, Pfaadt Looking to Turn Season Around Against Mariners

The Arizona Diamondbacks (32-34) will try to take the series Tuesday night against the Seattle Mariners (33-32). Arizona overcame a ninth-inning bullpen meltdown to walk off Seattle 8-4 in extra innings in the series opener.

Coming off a devastating series in Cincinnati and a costly first game against the Mariners, the Diamondbacks could use a pick-me-up game. So too could their starter, Brandon Pfaadt, who has mightily struggled in his last two starts.

This could be a pivotal game in the series, as well as Arizona's best chance to take a series from a team many expected to compete in a tight American League West division. It's best they take care of business on Tuesday and not have to worry about the series result on Wednesday afternoon.

Pitching Matchup

Brandon Pfaadt has suffered two consecutive blow-up outings. The first saw him leave the game without retiring a batter, allowing eight runs. The second he only lasted three innings, giving up six more runs. Those two disasters have seen his ERA explode from 3.90 to 5.51.

It's important to note that despite a bad contact profile, Pfaadt has given the Diamondbacks a competitive outing in nine of his first 11 starts. Arizona went 8-3 in those starts. However, the inability to miss bats or soften the contact allowed has finally caught up to him.

The right-hander will need to find something that works in this start. The Diamondbacks are running out of options, with only Bryce Jarvis and Tommy Henry available as potential starters on the 40-man roster. Neither pitcher has proven to be a reliable option, but Pfaadt can't continue to give up a lot of loud contact and hope to remain a starter.

Pfaadt utilizes a four-seamer, sinker, sweeper, curveball, and changeup. None of his five pitches fared well in 2025, although the sweeper is his biggest swing-and-miss offering. He'll need to work the lines to avoid the hard contact that's been plaguing him all season.

Logan Evans will start against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. From the series preview, right-hander Bryan Woo was the projected starter. Woo has been pushed back to Wednesday.

Evans debuted for Seattle earlier this season and has a 2.83 ERA in six starts. He doesn't miss a lot of bats, with a 17.4% strikeout rate, but limits free passes with a 6.9% walk rate.

If there is one weakness on the right-hander, he has a low ground ball rate of 38.5%. He's giving up a healthy amount of contact in the air to the hitter's pull field. One mitigating factor is his ability to limit hard contact, with only 38.5% of the batted balls against him recording an exit velocity of at least 95.0 MPH. That's why his barrel rate is roughly league average at 8.3%.

Evans throws the kitchen sink: a four-seamer, sinker, cutter, sweeper, curveball, and a changeup. He fills up the zone with his three different fastballs, which have been knocked around a bit. The key for Arizona will be to aggressively attack the fastball in the middle of the strike zone.

Starting Lineups

Check back later for lineups

Bullpen

The Diamondbacks' bullpen is spent after needing six relievers to cover the final five innings against the Mariners. None of the relievers were exceptionally taxed, with only Juan Morillo needing to cover more than one inning.

However, the concern is the health of Justin Martinez. The right-hander left the game with one out to go with an elbow injury, in which manager Torey Lovullo said the concern level was high. The same is also true for Christian Montes De Oca. Both will be getting imaging Tuesday.

Expect roster moves, with multiple players getting brought back up, so be sure to come back here at Arizona Diamondbacks on SI for those.

With Martinez out of the picture for the foreseeable future, Shelby Miller is expected to step up in the closer role like he did earlier in the season.

The Mariners had a well-rested bullpen entering the series, with all eight relievers available. After using Andrés Muñoz in the ninth inning, Seattle will be without their closer Tuesday night. Expect Matt Brash to get the save opportunity if the Mariners have a ninth-inning lead.

Casey Legumina also threw two innings and 43 pitches, so he's out for this game as well and maybe Wednesday as well. Former Diamondback Carlos Vargas also had two up-downs, with 24 pitches to get four outs before getting walked off by Josh Naylor.