PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks have had a tough start to the season against left-handed pitching, exacerbated by the injury to Ketel Marte, who crushes southpaws.
The shortcomings continued on Friday, when Brewers starter Jose Quintana delivered seven shutout innings in a 7-0 Milwaukee win at Chase Field. The Diamondbacks (7-7) managed four hits all game, none of which went for extra bases.
A quality start for Eduardo Rodriguez was inconsequential without any support from an offense that erupted for nine runs in Wednesday’s win over Baltimore.
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“I think anytime you come out flat after a good outing and then also after an offday, it’s frustrating,” designated hitter Randal Grichuk said. “I felt like we were prepared, the energy was good pregame. Just gotta tip the cap to him. He made some pitches.”
Quintana pushed through five innings with only 57 pitches then delivered a five-pitch sixth inning in his season debut. Quintana has now picked up a win against all 30 MLB clubs.
He is the sixth left-handed starter the Diamondbacks have faced this season. The six pitchers have combined for 36 innings and nine earned runs, an ERA of 2.25.
Since Marte landed on the injured list (hamstring) on Saturday, Arizona is 11-for-68 versus left-handed pitchers, hitting .162.
It is a small sample size, to be fair, but with Marte weeks away from getting back, the Diamondbacks have an early-season weakness, and manager Torey Lovullo is a bit concerned with the approaches he’s seen.
“That’s just what Jeff Banister and I were talking about in my office,” Lovullo said.
“We’re minus Ketel. We know that’s a big right-handed bat, but we have very capable guys behind him that are able to pick up the slack a little bit. I don’t like pull-side approaches. I like really quiet approaches that have an all-field approach and that’s what we preach. It just looks like guys are coming off the ball, especially against left-handed pitchers. We gotta be better.”
It’s been a slow stretch for right-handed boppers Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Gabriel Moreno, Eugenio Suarez and Grichuk, who all typically hit lefties well.
Against right-handers, the Diamondbacks’ .862 OPS leads all of baseball after Friday’s games. Fortunately, in a sense, the Diamondbacks will face a couple right-handed starters to close their series against the Brewers.
Eduardo Rodriguez delivers quality start vs. Brewers
Rodriguez allowed three runs, only two of which were earned, in 6.1 innings of work with six hits and three strikeouts. The Brewers struggled to square Rodriguez up, as they finished with a meager 80.5 mph average exit velocity against him.
Milwaukee took the lead in the fourth inning after a pair of grounders down each line got through, two doubles weaker than 80 mph.
Rodriguez got into more trouble in the fifth with back-to-back singles to lead it off. A passed ball charged to catcher Gabriel Moreno put both runners in scoring position. Rodriguez induced a ground ball and a fly out that scored both runners but prevented a crooked number.
He did not strike out the farm like his 12-punchout day in Washington, but Rodriguez efficiently worked deep into the game to give the offense plenty of opportunities.
“Feeling good with all my pitches, feeling good throwing everything where I wanted,” Rodriguez said. “The only thing was the changeup to (Rhys) Hoskins, it was a good pitch and he just hooked it for a double. And the one to (Sal Frelick) was, I feel like it was a good pitch, up in the strike zone and he just doubled too. The rest, I feel, it was under command.
“ I feel like I’m getting better every start. I was able to get into the seventh and give the team an opportunity to win the game.”
Where the game got out of hand was the top of the ninth inning, as reliever Joe Mantiply allowed four runs on four hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch.
Corbin Burnes to make home debut for Diamondbacks
New Diamondbacks ace Corbin Burnes will make his home debut at Chase Field on Saturday against his longtime club.
He matches up with Brewers rookie left-hander Chad Patrick, who was once a D-backs prospect before getting traded for infielder Jace Peterson in 2023.
First pitch is at 5:10 p.m. on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.
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