D-backs Bats Go Quiet in Loss to Guardians

The Arizona Diamondbacks battled the Cleveland Guardians in Chase Field in the penultimate game before Opening Day, losing 4-3 in a slow game.

There was plenty of great defense and pitching, but Arizona's offense was unable to string together at-bats or come through with enough timely hits.

Eduardo Rodríguez made his final start before the regular season and pitched fairly well showcasing strong velocity and good location on his pitches.

He pitched 4.1 innings and gave up three hits, three runs, one walk, and struck out five. He garnered multiple whiffs and reached 76 pitches.

That sets him up well to be able to reach 85 or 90 pitches on Sunday when he starts for the first time in the 2025 season. Rodriguez will be the team's No. 4 starter and pitch against the Chicago Cubs.

He's in the second year of a four-year contract worth at least $80 million. It's expected for him to be a vital starting pitcher for the team after missing most of last year with an injured lat strain in his left shoulder.

Rodríguez finishes Spring Training with an ERA of 2.70 over 10 innings with three runs given up and seven hits. He walked two and struck out an impressive 12 batters.

Justin Martinez struggled with control in his outing. He threw a pitch to the backstop and gave up a hit and a run in 0.2 innings but did record a strikeout. A.J. Puk pitched a clean sixth inning but gave up two hits, albeit with a strikeout in between.

Bryce Jarvis, who is competing for the final roster spot with Shelby Miller, pitched the seventh and eighth innings and gave up a hit but reached 94 mph and struck out Lane Thomas in the seventh, before striking out another batter in the eighth. His Spring ERA is now 1.93 over 9.1 innings. He has walked six but has struck out an eye-popping 13.

As for the offense, it was a very quiet day at the plate. The team only had six hits, most of which were singles. Gabriel Moreno did deliver a sharply-hit ball down the left field line for a double, but was left stranded at third base in the fifth inning.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit into a double play twice, coincidentally with Corbin Carroll on first base both times. Speaking of Carroll, he had two singles including an infield base hit in the first inning.

The offense came alive thanks to some minor leaguers in the ninth inning when Gavin Conticello singled, Waldschmidt got on base via a hit-by-pitch, an Anderson Rojas double that plated Conticello, and a wild pitch that scored Waldschmidt.

LuJames Groover got on via a walk to put two on and no outs with Jose Fernandez who drove in a run, but hit into a force out.

There was a highlight play in left field made by top prospect Ryan Waldschmidt who leaped into the stands to make a phenomenal catch as one can watch below.

WHAT A CATCH FROM THE KID 🤯 pic.twitter.com/lSJ33lV4zV
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) March 25, 2025

The final exhibition game is tomorrow at 12:40 p.m. at Chase Field between the Guardians and Diamondbacks with Jordan Montgomery projected to pitch.