D-backs' Torey Lovullo Addresses Controversial Ninth-Inning Decision

The Arizona Diamondbacks' skipper reacted to a brutal loss.

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo reacts after a bat flies out of the hands of James McCann (8) while at the plate against the Miami Marlins at Chase Field in Phoenix, on June 28, 2025. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks lost a painful contest to the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, wasting a nine-inning shutout by Brandon Pfaadt and eventually falling by a score of 5-1 in extra innings.

It was a brutal loss. Arizona had the winning runner at third base in an 0-0 tie in both the ninth and 10th innings — both times with less than two outs. Both times, the D-backs failed to execute.

In the ninth, Lovullo opted to pinch-hit catcher Adrian Del Castillo to face a right-handed pitcher, rather than leaving James McCann in the game, or going to the switch-hitting Ildemaro Vargas.

Considering Vargas has been hot, and profiles as more of a contact hitter, the decision came under some scrutiny. When asked by Jack Sommers of Diamondbacks On SI about the decision in his postgame press conference, Lovullo was open about it.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Torey Lovullo Addresses Pinch-Hit Decision

When asked if he considered using Vargas in that situation, Lovullo said, "yes and no."

"I like both guys," he said. "[Del Castillo] is swinging a good bat right now. He had a big home run [Tuesday]. I was looking to get the ball elevated. That's it.

"He had some good swings, some really good swings. The bottom line is he missed. He missed on a couple of key opportunities. Of course, I'll think about that all night," Lovullo said.

Regardless of pinch-hit decisions and batter matchup analysis, the ultimate fact is that Arizona failed to execute.

They could not score when it mattered despite being given multiple opportunities, wasting a nine-inning shutout by right-hander Brandon Pfaadt and a scoreless 10th by Brandyn Garcia.

After Garcia exited, John Curtiss and Juan Morillo combined for a blowup 11th, giving up five runs. Lovullo said the failure to score bothered him more than the meltdown inning.

"I think the emotional letdown after there's a run scored in extra innings or a runner or two that are scored in extra innings is a real effect," he said.

"I'm not going to be bothered by the five runs in the last inning. I'm bothered by the lack of execution inside of that inning that got us to that point.

"I feel like we were in a position to win that game, we just couldn't pull the trigger and get it done," Lovullo said.

The Diamondbacks are still alive in the playoff race, but opportunities to sweep don't come often. They own the tiebreaker over the Giants, but will need to make up ground against a slew of tough opponents to close out the season.

The manager said Arizona has rebounded well from gut-punch losses like Wednesday's all season.

"I think we've absorbed and taken on a lot of tough losses this year, and the way that we turn it around the next day has been fairly remarkable, so that will be my standard and expectation for what we do on Friday.

"We've got to remember what our objectives are. It's not going to change. My mindset isn't going to change, their mindset isn't going to change. We've got to win baseball games. Plain and simple, I don't care how we do it," Lovullo said.