D-backs Loss to Brewers Raises Massive Pitching Concern

Merrill Kelly's latest start was not much of an improvement.

Apr 28, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly (29) delivers a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers in the first inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

Sometimes, the Milwaukee Brewers just find a way to get on base. The best way to dampen the blow is often to simply avoid handing out free baserunners.

And that is precisely why the Arizona Diamondbacks were blown out by a score of 13-2 on Tuesday night at American Family Field.

The D-backs' pitching staff has been a mixed bag for quite some time. At times, Arizona's arms have been surprisingly effective. Other nights have been a dismal watch. Tuesday was one of the latter nights, and it began with right-hander Merrill Kelly.

D-backs Merrill Kelly struggles with command again

Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Sal Frelick (10) hits a solo home run off of Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly (29) during the second inning of their game Thursday, April 28, 2026 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kelly came into Tuesday night's game looking to bounce back from one of his rougher career performances. The veteran gave up eight runs in 4.1 innings to the Chicago White Sox one start prior.

In technicality, Tuesday's game was an improvement. Kelly competed five innings, and gave up five earned runs. His ERA, which was 9.31 coming in, inched down to 9.20.

But Kelly displayed a continuation of an extremely concerning trend, and it played into the Brewers' hands at an alarming rate — a difficulty with throwing strikes.

Kelly landed only 58 of his 104 pitches for strikes, and issued an astounding five bases on balls (one intentional).

With a team that puts balls into play at as high a rate as the Brewers (with a remarkable ability for those balls to find gaps), free runners are a major issue. Two of Kelly's walks came around to score in the bottom of the fourth on a Joey Ortiz single.

The veteran righty appeared to be trying to land his pitches on the edges of the zone — which is precisely what has made him so effective in the past.

But Kelly's command has been off to a degree since coming back from his stint on the IL, and that certainly arose in a major capacity Tuesday. Pitches that might have landed on the edges of the zone were just far enough away to be an easier take. Pitches forced back into the zone were more hittable than ever.

Kelly has only made three starts, and was not afforded a proper spring training. It's not time to push the panic button, but time is beginning to tick on Kelly finding the zone more consistently.

D-backs Andrew Hoffmann blown up in relief

Apr 28, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Andrew Hoffmann (56) delivers a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers in the sixth inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

The only arm that had a tougher night than Kelly on Tuesday was right-hander Andrew Hoffmann. Hofmann came into Tuesday's game with a 2.38 ERA. He left with an 8.49 ERA.

Hoffmann fell victim to some of poor batted ball luck, but also generally failed to execute his pitches. He gave up an astounding five ground ball singles (including a bunt hit and a bunt that resulted in a throwing error), but also gave up a pair of line drives and a ground rule double. In total, the 26-year-old right-hander was charged with eight earned runs in just 0.1 innings of work.

Hoffmann did not have underlying metrics that supported his sparkling ERA coming into Tuesday, and also gave up a run in each of his previous three appearances.

A note on Andrew Hoffman:
He came in w/ 6.57 FIP, 4.66 x FIP, 4.84 xERA, & 4.29 SIERA, so none of that matched his 2.38 ERA b4 that inning started.

Obviously a lot of bad luck to give up 8 runs, ballooning ERA to 8.49. His FIP is now 6.73, and xFIP 5.12

Roster move incoming?

— Jack Sommers (@shoewizard59) April 29, 2026

Meanwhile, right-hander Kade Strowd (the return of the Blaze Alexander trade), has given up one run in 9.2 innings, and was one of the only pitchers to not appear in Tuesday night's bullpen game for the Triple-A Reno Aces.

A roster move might be in the cards for these two arms, though Hoffmann does have the ability to provide length, which could afford him more time on the MLB roster to try and climb out of his low-sample-size ERA hole.