The Arizona Diamondbacks have been swept for the first time season, dropping another close ballgame to the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday, 4-3.
The D-backs (26-27) have fallen below .500 for the first time since May 7 (5-6), as they have dropped five straight games by a combined six runs.
And yet, they were out-hit in none of these contests and held leads in the sixth inning or later in all five.
Similar to Monday’s 4-3 loss, St. Louis’ game-winning knock bounced off a D-backs defender.
On Friday, center fielder Alek Thomas did not corral a sliding catch in the gap to rob Nolan Arenado of a bases-clearing triple off Zac Gallen. On Sunday, second baseman Ketel Marte did not collect a sharp one-hopper on a slide, as Victor Scott II delivered the go-ahead single in the seventh inning against Jalen Beeks.Diamondbacks had chance late
The Diamondbacks had more opportunities for late magic.
Phil Maton entered the ninth inning to close it out, as Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley had pitched in the previous two games. Alek Thomas led off the inning with a double away from the shift down the third-base line.
Geraldo Perdomo squared around to bunt but was hit by a pitch instead, setting up the top of the lineup with two on and nobody out.
Corbin Carroll struck out in an 0-for-5 performance — as he went 3-for-22 on the six-game road trip. Marte popped out to foul ground, as Arenado sacrificed his body by crashing into the netting and landing hard on the seats to make the catch. Marte is 2-for-23 this year with runners in scoring position.
NOLAN ARENADO GOES ALL OUT! pic.twitter.com/rbbdkfEBEe
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 25, 2025
Arenado falling into the netting meant the two base runners advanced 90 feet for Lourdes Gurriel Jr. A single would have put the D-backs ahead.
Instead, Gurriel struck out to end a “frustrating” series.
The D-backs left runners on second and third in the ninth inning in back-to-back games. They out-hit the Cardinals 30-20 in the series but finished 6-for-26 with runners in scoring position (.231).
Brandon Pfaadt bends but doesn’t break
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This game was a back-and-forth affair from the first inning.
The D-backs jumped ahead with two runs in the first, as Eugenio Suarez poked a two-run single to right field after a Josh Naylor double off Sonny Gray. Arizona had not scored a first-inning run since Monday — last year, the D-backs led MLB with 124 runs in the first inning, but this year they rank 14th.
The Cardinals responded against D-backs starter Brandon Pfaadt, scoring a run in the first and third innings to even the score.
Arizona ran ahead in the sixth after a Suarez double — his third hit of the game — and a Pavin Smith RBI single, but the lead did not last long.
Pfaadt came one out shy of another quality start in a performance in which he bent without breaking. He finished with 5.2 innings and three earned runs on five hits. He only walked one batter, but it was costly, as Cardinals shortstop Maysn Winn drew a lead-off walk in the sixth inning and scored the game-tying run, 3-3. Winn hit a solo shot off Pfaadt in his previous at-bat.
The Cardinals hit Pfaadt pretty hard with an average exit velocity of 99.7 mph. This is the first time all season in which Pfaadt did not earn a decision, as he entered Sunday 7-3 in 10 outings.
This road trip started with a sense of optimism.
The Diamondbacks defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-5 on Monday at Chavez Ravine, winning their fifth of seven games and jumping to 26-22.
They were right there in every contest since and come home having to feel like they let most of, if not all of, these games slip away.
Diamondbacks’ next series
The Diamondbacks head back to Chase Field to start a six-game homestand against the Pittsburgh Pirates (19-35) and Washington Nationals (24-29), two of the four worst teams in the National League by record.
The D-backs have played nine of their last 12 games on the road.
They begin a three-game set with the Pirates on Monday at 6:40 p.m. with Ryne Nelson matching up against Pittsburgh left-hander Andrew Heaney. The D-backs will face Pirates ace Paul Skenes on Wednesday.
Catch the game on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.
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