The Diamondbacks Have a Serious First-Inning Problem

This trend is not setting Arizona up for success.

May 1, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen (23) throws the ball against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks are frequently setting themselves up for failure, and it starts in the first inning.

After yet another ugly performance by right-hander Zac Gallen on Friday against the Chicago Cubs, the trend of the D-backs falling into early holes continued in a major way.

Gallen surrendered three earned runs in the first inning of Friday's game. Set up with an early deficit and a high pitch count after just one frame, Gallen went on to give up three more runs, leaving before completing the fourth inning. That was not a new sight for a D-backs starting pitcher of late.

"I think we just got out of sorts and out of sequencing," manager Torey Lovullo said, speaking to D-backs.TV's Todd Walsh after the game.

"Certain pitches were supposed to be thrown in certain areas, and we couldn't get to it. And if that was the case, we were going to try something else, and it just took us a little while to figure out what that something else was.

Gallen's latest outing points to what has been an extremely consistent issue across Arizona's rotation of late, and it's costing the D-backs chances to win games. The D-backs have faced a first-inning deficit in three of their past four games — and they've lost all but one of those four games.

In fact, the Diamondbacks' first-inning numbers are even uglier when examined at the full-season level. Arizona holds an abysmal 8.71 ERA in the first inning of contests this season.

That is not only the worst figure in all of major league baseball, it's firmly in last place by over two full runs' difference. The 6.68 first-inning ERA of the Texas Rangers is the closest to the D-backs.

D-backs' first-inning woes setting up poor starts

Apr 21, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly reacts in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

It's not just the fact that deficits are taking place so early in contests. Arizona is certainly capable of coming back from down even large numbers of runs, and they've proven that comeback ability.

But it has set up D-backs starting pitchers to continuously deliver short, ineffective outings. A poor first inning sets a poor tone, and drives Arizona's starters' pitch counts up unnecessarily. That, in turn, causes strain on a bullpen that already possesses its fair share of issues with consistency and performance.

It's not entirely clear whether these issues are stemming from poor preparation or gameplanning, or simply bad execution by D-backs hurlers. Perhaps it's some blend of those factors, though poor execution is likely involved regardless.

Perfection is not expected, obviously, and some poor starts will happen regardless, especially when facing tougher offenses. But the D-backs have to find a way to start their games on a more positive note if they want to give their bullpen and offense a chance to take over.