The Diamondbacks are sliding at the wrong time, and Tuesday night in Boston only made the picture uglier. Arizona dropped a second straight to the Red Sox, 9-4, and with the Phillies and Padres both winning, the Dbacks now sit two games back of the third wild card spot. They’ve lost three in a row and are 4-6 over their last 10.
The noise around Ketel Marte is part of the backdrop, but the bigger problem in this series has been impossible to ignore: the pitching has been torched for 20 runs over the last two games. That kind of damage makes life miserable for any lineup, no matter who is in it.
Merrill Kelly was hit hard again, and his night unraveled quickly. He gave up six earned runs in four innings and walked four.
What stands out most is how often he’s missing the zone. Jesse Freidman of Snakes Territory pointed out that Kelly threw only 38.4% of his pitches in the strike zone Tuesday.
Last year, that number was 47.8%. It wasn’t an isolated blip, either; several of Kelly’s recent starts have come with sub-40% in-zone rates.
Whatever’s behind it, this looks bigger than a quick mechanical tweak.
Arizona did have one big swing to hang its hat on. In the top of the third, Gabi Moreno came through with a grand slam after Waldschmidt and Vargas each singled with two outs and Carroll was hit by a pitch.
Moreno stepped in, got ahead 2-0, then crushed a mistake pitch 428 feet over the Green Monster. That gave the Dbacks a 4-3 lead and, for a moment, felt like the kind of momentum shift this club desperately needed.
But Kelly gave it right back four batters later, and from there the offense went cold. Outside of a Perdomo double in the sixth and a few scattered singles, Arizona didn’t do much else.
There was at least one encouraging sight on the mound. Justin Martinez returned and lit up the radar gun with 102 mph fastballs.
He walked two in his inning and wasn’t spotless, but getting him back out there matters. In theory, that gives Arizona a bullpen weapon it badly needs.
Still, the bottom line remains the same: when a staff allows nine or more runs, wins get hard to find. The Marte situation may be weighing on the group, and the offense has mostly been quiet since that news broke, but the pitching in this series has been the main reason the Diamondbacks are staring at another setback.
Now it turns to Wednesday, with Brandon Pfaadt on the mound as Arizona tries to avoid the sweep. The offense will also have to answer against Payton Tolle and his power fastball.
The Dbacks need a reset, fast, and they need it before this stretch starts feeling even heavier. They’re also hoping for better news on Marte after his MRI.
In Other News...
Diamondbacks Suddenly Lose Ketel Marte In A Situation Fans Didn't Expect
The Diamondbacks were forced into an unexpected roster shuffle when Ketel Marte was placed on the restricted list ahead of their game against the Red Sox, with Jose Fernandez recalled from Triple-A to take his place. For Arizona, the move immediately changes the look of the infield and creates a hole around one of its most established players at a time when every lineup decision matters.
What makes the situation more unusual is the restricted-list designation itself, which means Marte is not paid and does not collect MLB service time while he is off the roster. Arizona has not offered much beyond the transaction for now, leaving the club to navigate the baseball side of a sudden absence while the larger question around Martes status hangs over the team. [Read more 🡒]
Ketel Martes Sudden Absence Leaves Diamondbacks Fans With One Big Concern
Ketel Marte traveled with the Diamondbacks to Boston, but his absence from batting practice at Fenway Park quickly turned into a bigger storyline than anyone around the club likely wanted. For a team still trying to sort out its postseason positioning, losing sight of one of its most important lineup pieces naturally sent a jolt through the fan base.
Arizona later put Marte on the restricted list, adding to the uncertainty without offering an explanation for why he was missing from the pregame routine. With so much at stake and so little clarity available, the situation leaves supporters waiting for a better read on when, or even whether, Marte will be back in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Roster Shakeup Puts One Immediate Arenado Question Front And Center
The Diamondbacks latest roster shuffle kept the 40-man group intact while bringing some familiar names back into the conversation. Martinez returned to pitching in the majors after more than a year away, a sign his rehab work translated well enough to earn another look, and the club is still tracking toward September returns for Lawlar and Locklear as they work back from injuries.
Amid all that movement, Nolan Arenado is still there, too, even with the strained trunk issue hanging over him. The way Arizona handles his availability could matter quickly, since he may be limited to a bench role if he can go at all, and the club has already shown it is willing to make tough roster calls when it needs to create room. [Read more 🡒]