Diamondbacks' Jordan Lawlar to Make Season Debut vs Giants

Brandon Pfaadt will start and the rookie shortstop will get his first MLB action since 2023 as the D-backs go for the series victory

Sep 13, 2023; New York City, New York, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Jordan Lawlar (10) throws out New York Mets right Fielder DJ Steward (not pictured) after fielding a ground ball during the fourth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks are looking to string together back-to-back wins Tuesday night for the first time since April 30-May 1 against the New York Mets. If they're able to do that, they'll also take the first series of the year against the San Francisco Giants.

The D-backs are 22-20, and 5-5 in their last 10 games, alternating between losses and wins. On Monday they took the series opener 2-1 behind a masterful performance from Merrill Kelly and the slugging of Corbin Carroll.

The Giants have now lost four in a row, but their record is still 24-18, and they remain two games ahead of Arizona in the Wild Card standings.

Top prospect Jordan Lawlar will make his season debut for Arizona. Brandon Pfaadt will toe the rubber against the San Francisco Giants, who will send former Diamondback Robbie Ray out to the mound.

Pfaadt is 6-2 with a 3.28 ERA in 46.2 innings pitched. He leads the team in all three categories and has continued to be a workhorse in the rotation. Pfaadt has made three starts against the Giants in his career, and has gone 0-2 with a 3.68 ERA. He's only made one start at Oracle park, back in 2023, where he was a hard-luck loser, throwing seven innings of two hit ball, but the D-backs were shut out 1-0.

Last year Pfaadt's lone outing against the Giants was a short one, in which he gave up four earned runs in just 2.2 innings on September 24 at Chase Field. The Giants went on to win 11-0 as the D-backs stumbled out of the playoff picture.

Ray is 5-0 with a 2.84 ERA in 44.1 innings pitched. He's only given up five earned runs in his last four starts while walking eight and striking out 25 in this hot stretch.

Ray, who spent six seasons with the Diamondbacks, has never faced his former team. He was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays at the Deadline during the 2020 season. He went on to win the Cy Young for that club the very next year in 2021, going 13-7 with a league leading 2.84 ERA. He also led the league in innings (193), strikeouts (248) and WAR (6.9).

Ray missed almost all of 2023 and most of 2024 due to having Tommy John surgery, but appears to be back in top form. It's still a four-seam fastball, slider, changeup repertoire with the occasional curve. The slider still does the heavy lifting when it comes to recording swing-and-miss and outs. He has a 35% WHIFF rate and a .152 batting average against.

Lineups

D-backs at Giants Lineup May 13, 2025 | Jack Sommers

As anticipated, Lawlar will play shortstop and bat eighth, giving Geraldo Perdomo a day off. The 22-year-old Lawlar is the top-rated prospect in the Diamondbacks' system. This will be his second opportunity to play in the major leagues. He saw limited action in 2023, getting 34 plate appearances in the regular season and two in the Postseason.

Lawlar was batting .336 with a .992 OPS in 173 plate appearances for the Triple-A Reno Aces of the Pacific Coast League. You can read a detailed breakdown and analysis of Lawlar's season at the link below.

Related Content: Jordan Lawlar's Hot Start in Reno Leads to Big League Promotion

With a lefty on the moun,d Ketel Marte is in the leadoff spot, and Carroll drops down to second. Right-hand batter Randal Grichuk is in at DH. Carroll has 13 homers on the season, and is just one behind major league leaders Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber. He has just one homer in 61 plate appearances against left-hand pitching however.

In somewhat of a surprise, Tim Tawa is getting the start in the difficult center field of Oracle Park. Alek Thomas bats left-handed and has typically not seen much success against southpaws. But this will be a tough defensive assignment for Tawa. He played 124 innings in center for the Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles last year and has 815 innings in center for his minor league career.

Bullpens

Shelby Miller only needed nine pitches to record a save Monday night and should be available. Lefty Jalen Beeks needed 24 pitches to record a scoreless eighth inning, so Torey Lovullo may try to stay away from him Tuesday night. Kendall Graveman has yet to make his season debut, and is highly likely to pitch in this game. Kevin Ginkel and Ryan Thompson have each had three days off.

The Giants used two middle relievers and setup man Tyler Rogers Monday, but he only threw eight pitches. Closer Ryan Walker and Camilo Doval each worked Sunday, but none of the three days prior, so they should be available to manager Bob Melvin.

The Giants have an MLB-best 2.48 reliever ERA, compared to the Diamondbacks, who rank 25th with a 4.95 reliever ERA. Since May 1, the Giants have a 2.70 reliever ERA compared to the D-backs' 6.13.