Three Takeaways from D-backs' Ugly Series Against Reds

The Diamondbacks' offense disappeared, the starting pitching was mediocre at best, and the team struggled to weather through adversity.

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey returns to the dugout after a pitching change in the seventh inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Saturday, June 7, 2025. The Reds won, 13-1. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Diamondbacks entered Cincinnati with a four-game win streak. They leave with three consecutive losses and will have to regroup quickly. They've now seen the Reds leapfrog them in the National League Wild Card standings and are seeing their season potentially spiral out of control.

Arizona is now 31-34 and takes on the Seattle Mariners for what could be a series that could decide the direction of their season.

Here are three key takeaways from a very ugly series in Cincinnati:

1: Offense Fails to Build Innings in Homer-Happy Park

It's easy to point at the pitching as the reason why the team got swept. Arizona's pitching surrendered 21 runs for the series. However, in two of those games, they allowed just four runs. Considering the ballpark, the pitching was competitive enough for the Diamondbacks to win the series.

The blame for the series falls more on the offense for failing to take advantage of decent enough pitching to take the series.

The Diamondbacks' offense was hot in the Braves series, scoring eight runs in two of the three games. Playing in Great American Ballpark, a ballpark with the highest three-year rolling park factor in home runs according to Statcast, they had a chance to put up some big run totals. However, they were not able to score more than three runs in any of those contests and six in total for the series.

Arizona hit four home runs in the series, three of them solo shots. The old saying is, "solo shots don't beat you", and the Reds proved that over the weekend. The only inning the Diamondbacks put up a crooked number was the third inning of the first game. That came on back-to-back home runs by Ketel Marte and Geraldo Perdomo against Nick Lodolo.

Some of the credit belongs to the Cincinnati pitchers, who entered the series 11th in baseball in FanGraphs WAR (7.0). They collectively held Arizona to just 18 hits and seven walks while striking out 28.

When they had opportunities, they failed to capitalize on them. The Diamondbacks went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position, the only hit a Corbin Carroll RBI single on Sunday. That shows not only a failure to build innings, but also a failure to make something happen when they do.

2: Starting Pitching Still Inconsistent

The Diamondbacks saw the return of Eduardo Rodríguez in the series opener. The left-hander allowed two runs in five innings and left with a 3-2 lead.

However, that was the only positive from the rotation over the weekend. Ryne Nelson, who will be expected to finish the season in the rotation, got slammed for seven runs in three-plus innings. He struggled to land pitches in the zone, walking three in a five-run first inning.

Arizona can't afford for their starting pitching to give up big numbers on the scoreboard, especially in the first inning. They never recovered from that tough first inning, as a Kendall Graveman meltdown turned a 5-1 game into a 13-1 blowout.

In the series finale, Zac Gallen looked sharp early but got bit by the long ball late in his start. Gallen put up zeros in the first three innings but served up home runs in three of his final four. The third home run, a two-run blast by Matt McLain, cost him a quality start in the seventh and doomed him to his eighth loss of the season.

Quality starts have been the ultimate barometer for how a Zac Gallen start will end up in terms of wins and losses. He's recorded five of them in 14 starts, with the team winning all five. In his other nine starts, the Diamondbacks have lost all of them.

3: Weather Wreaks Havoc

The weather wreaked havoc in Friday's series opener. The Diamondbacks had a 3-2 lead entering the sixth. With heavy rain coming over the ballpark, the umpiring crew decided to see if the two teams could play through it.

During that time, Arizona saw their lead evaporate on a Christian Encarnacion-Strand solo home run and lost their pitcher and catcher to injury. The game was ultimately suspended in the seventh inning when the conditions proved to be too unsafe to play in.

The rain dampened the Diamondbacks' offensive momentum. Following the resumption of play, the team mustered up just three runs. On the other hand, the Reds countered with 18 of the 21 runs they scored. That just showed how much better Cincinnati handled the adversity the weather brought than Arizona.

The series finale also saw a short rain delay, which ultimately didn't factor too much in the game's outcome.

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