Three Takeaways from Diamondbacks' Sloppy Series Loss to Rays

The Diamondbacks dropped a series they had opportunities to win.

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Shelby Miller throws to the Chicago Cubs in the eighth inning at Chase Field on March 28, 2025, in Phoenix. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks lost two of three in a sloppy series against the Tampa Bay Rays. They are now 3-9 against the Rays since 2017.

It was a series Arizona could ill-afford to lose, despite being a mere 25 games into the season. The D-backs will face some tough opponents in the coming weeks, fraught with potential National League implications.

They'll face the Braves, Mets (twice), Phillies, Dodgers (twice) and Giants in the coming month. The margin for error will likely be quite small in those series.

As Arizona and its fans well know, the season can come down to one game, and the D-backs let two wins slip into losses at home in this series. Here are three takeaways from a rough one against Tampa Bay:

1: Diminished Bullpen Depth

The Diamondbacks are in a tough situation with regard to their bullpen and its usage. Co-closer A.J. Puk is down with elbow inflammation, still awaiting a final verdict. Justin Martinez was down for an extended period with shoulder fatigue, and while he did pitch a scoreless inning on Wednesday, has not been used at a high rate since.

These two situations created a trickle-down effect, forcing manager Torey Lovullo to go in different directions than what might seem like the obvious choices. Lovullo readily admitted that he needs to improve his decision-making process, but some things are tough to avoid when two of Arizona's best relief arms are both down.

D-backs relievers pitched 12 innings over the duration of the series. There were no significantly short starts by a starter, as Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodríguez and Corbin Burnes each pitched at least 5.1 or more innings.

In game one, Arizona's bullpen delivered three scoreless innings. In games two and three, relievers were responsible for eight runs scoring over nine innings of work. Granted, four of those runs were not earned — a combination of inherited runners and ghost runners — but the fact is that D-backs' relievers simply could not keep the Rays from crossing home plate.

In all, a D-backs reliever surrendered a lead three times in two games, including a blown save, leading to two extra-inning losses.

It's not an entirely lost cause. Reinforcements are on the horizon in the form of Kevin Ginkel and Kendall Graveman, and it hasn't been ruled out entirely that Puk could return.

But regardless of one's feelings surrounding Lovullo's bullpen management, the inescapable fact is that Arizona's relief corp is much, much weaker all the way down without two of their top arms — an obvious conclusion, but a concerning one, as injuries are often unavoidable facets of a 162-game marathon.

The D-backs' bullpen has everything it needs to be a team strength, but it can't function for long missing a significant chunk of its talent.

2: Offensive Inconsistency

The Diamondbacks have had one of MLB's scariest run-scoring offenses in back-to-back seasons. Their late-inning heroics are stuff of legend. But at times, Arizona can go quite cold.

Granted, the Rays do have some talent on their pitching staff — starters and relievers both. But after Arizona plated five in game one, the clutch knocks were hard to come by.

It's easy to look at a total of 15 runs scored over three games and write that off as average production, but the D-backs were a combined 5-for-29 with runners in scoring position.

In three extra innings, Arizona only managed to plate the ghost runner once, scoring just one total run despite being afforded three opportunities to tie or walk off games two and three. Geraldo Perdomo grounded into a game-ending double play in game two with the winning run at second base.

Part of that can be attributed to the ebb and flow of a baseball season. Perhaps some of it is poor luck. This isn't necessarily a reason to be entirely concerned with the D-backs' offense, especially with All-Star Ketel Marte working his way back from his hamstring injury.

But the D-backs won't win many series with a .172 RISP average. That could easily change going forward, but there won't be much margin for error in that category in the coming weeks.

3: Sloppy Defense

Curiously, the D-backs' calling card of excellent defense has not been as present in 2025 as it normally is. That defensive sloppiness reared its head again in back-to-back games.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. took a poor route on a double in the seventh inning of game two — that ultimately led to the tying and go-ahead run scoring.

In game three, the D-backs committed an uncharacteristic three errors. One by Burnes, one by Perdomo and one by Eugenio Suárez.

This is not the method in which a Lovullo-managed team generally performs defensively. Suárez and Perdomo are both known as sturdy, if not excellent defenders.

The curious part is that the position player talent largely remains the same. With the exception of some early hiccups, Josh Naylor has done well at first base to keep the impact of Christian Walker's loss to a minimum. Tim Tawa has similarly recovered from early mistakes to begin flashing a smooth glove in place of Marte at second.

Simply put, everyday D-backs' defenders are not doing what they, their fans, and their coaches know they're capable of doing with the baseball — at least, not at their usual high rate.

One thing is certain, Lovullo won't be satisfied with those defensive numbers. Just how quickly it improves has yet to be seen.

Be sure to also check out the Snakes Territory Podcast with Jack Sommers and Jesse Friedman discuss all these issues

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