D-backs Torey Lovullo 'Hates' Position Players Pitching in Blowouts

The Diamondbacks' manager is not thrilled with the outcome of recent games.

Apr 21, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo reacts in the eighth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

For the second time in three games, Arizona Diamondbacks catcher James McCann was tasked with cleaning up the final inning of a brutal blowout loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Diamondbacks have had to go to their veteran catcher four separate times this season. Four times has a game gotten so far away from Arizona that it was more beneficial to trot out a position player than burn an arm out of their taxed bullpen.

Manager Torey Lovullo said he hates that harsh reality.

"I hate having a position player pitching games. I do not like it at all," Lovullo said to D-backs.TV's Todd Walsh following Thursday's loss. "Probably one of my least favorite things in baseball."

"But when you ask a position player to go out there and give you that extra inning so you're all gassed up for the next city... it was great. It was a fantastic job.

"He never bats an eye. I can cold call him and have him go in a game without stretching, never blinks. I can ask him to pitch. I can ask him to do anything. He's just a great teammate," Lovullo said.

Diamondbacks' James McCann finishes another blowout loss

Apr 28, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks catcher James McCann (8) delivers a 31 mph pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers for a 123 ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

Though perhaps the most glaring encapsulation of Arizona's poor performance, the fact that McCann was asked to take the mound once again is another indictment of the D-backs' poor pitching performance — particularly from starters — in this series.

Right-hander Michael Soroka, who had come into Thursday with four wins and a 2.60 ERA in his first handful of starts with the D-backs, gave up eight runs in three innings.

He, like many of his teammates, struggled with a Brewers lineup that rarely strikes out. He allowed three runs in the first inning, and that set the tone for an outing that continued to devolve.

"It wasn't anything we ever planned for," Lovullo said. "We believe in our starting pitchers, but we know that they set the tone. We've got to get better starting pitching, that's what it comes down to.

"We've been flooding our bullpen and asking a lot of them. It's worked out, we won a game here, but that's not our end zone, that's not our goal. We want to do it the right way, and the two games we lost here, we've got to be better."

As a whole, the D-backs have played well this season, with a 16-14 record thus far in 2026. But the inability of Arizona's starter to deliver not only quality results, but also provide length, has led to some poor results and an overly-taxed bullpen.