Torey Lovullo Had Simple Statement After Elimination from Playoffs

The Arizona Diamondbacks, for the second straight year, will not be playing October baseball.

After a brutal season's worth of injury and underperformance, the D-backs were eliminated from playoff contention after losing 7-4 to the San Diego Padres on Friday night.

The game became a must-win after the Cincinnati Reds won, and Arizona could not climb out of a 6-2 hole. After the game Torey Lovullo gave an honest statement to reporters, including Diamondbacks On SI's Jack Sommers.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Torey Lovullo Reacts to Missing Playoffs

"We're more than disappointed. There's no words you can use that are going to describe how this room is feeling right now," Lovullo said.

"It was a full investment. It was a group that came together, and... they didn't know how stacked up the odds were against them, and they didn't care. They just went out and continued to play good baseball, and found themselves in a situation that they deserved, and when you come up short, that hurts.

"It's very, very painful," Lovullo said.

There isn't much room for moral victories. No one inside the disappointed D-backs clubhouse or front office would make light of the ultimate disappointment.

But Lovullo said he was proud of his players and the effort they put forward Friday. Even facing a near-impossible path, Arizona rallied to pull within two runs, though they fell shy of one last miraculous comeback.

"I couldn't be more proud of how the guys just got re-engaged, and they kept fighting, and that's one of the signs of a team that's together, and believes in one another, and just kept handing it off to the next guy," he said.

Lovullo said he had not given a speech to the team as a whole, but had spoken to several players.

"I've had some individual conversations, and just got a chance to tell the guys that they have nothing to hang their heads on, and they've gone out and made this organization proud, and they represented this organization the best way they could.

"You know, we traded at the deadline, and I think the guys felt like there was an opportunity to go out and perform. They did. Players that we counted on went out and started to to make improvements.

"But when you fall short, it's painful, and that's how I'm feeling right now, and I know that room is feeling the same way," Lovullo said.

The ultimate failure was not for lack of effort, heart or connectedness — that much is certain. But the D-backs simply could not climb out of the hole they dug for themselves, and will have to live with that for the offseason.

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