TL;DR: The D-Backs battled Paul Skenes’ arsenal, an inconsistent strike zone, and themselves en route to a series loss.
I could just as easily have subtitled this game the No Good, Very Bad Day for Every D-Back. I’ll admit I wasn’t feeling very confident heading into today either. The combination of Zac Gallen’s inconsistency, the Arizona offense’s recent malaise, and Paul Skenes’ reputation made me extremely pessimistic on the D-Backs’ chances. Unfortunately, that pessimism was well-placed as all three issues re-emerged – plus a couple extras to add some salt to the wound. Of course, I hadn’t thought there was a way to put any more salt on after last night’s torture session/latest Arizona bullpen meltdown, but this team continues to find a way to scratch that itch. It’s a discouraging start to a six-game homestand against lesser clubs that could help springboard the D-Backs back into some much-needed positive momentum before the end of the month.
This is one of those games where the line in the box score for Gallen (5+ IP, 6 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K) isn’t nearly representative of the outing he had. I don’t want to insinuate that he was necessarily good or on his game, but he tightroped his way through the first four innings in exactly the way you’d expect a veteran starter to do. The game had an inauspicious start with the visitor’s half of the second inning beginning with three straight baserunners on a walk and two singles. Henry Davis, the D-Back killer from last night, had the final single that scored the leadoff walk to Alexander Canario. Unfortunately, it was the fifth inning when the tightrope became frayed and in the sixth when it came completely undone. In the fifth, Gallen loaded the bases with a leadoff walk to Ke’Bryan Hayes and a pair of singles to Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Jared Triolo for Oneil Cruz. After a battle, Gallen got Cruz to reach for a changeup and put it on the ground for Jordan Lawlar, but instead of changing his angle for the throw to second, Lawlar planted and tossed it past Geraldo Perdomo into left field for his second error of the game. It would have been extremely difficult to double up the speedy Cruz anyway, but rather than any outs, it was a two-run fielder’s choice. It was an ugly play and we just have to hope it was a learning experience for the youngster.
Sadly, things went from bad to worse in the sixth as Gallen once again allowed a leadoff walk (this time to Spencer Horwitz) before consecutive singles from Davis and Hayes plated Pittsburgh’s fourth run of the game and chased Gallen from the game for Juan Morillo. If anything, Morillo fared even worse as both of the inherited runners scored on his first pitch, a double that just stayed fair down the first base side. The Pirates continued their assault with a single and sacrifice groundout before being punctuated by Bryan Reynolds’ “triple” that skipped past Corbin Carroll all the way to the wall. Seemingly in a blink, the Pirates had put up five runs in the inning and the game felt out of reach – especially given the utter lack of punch the Arizona offense has held recently.
Speaking of lifelessness, D-Backs’ hitters were thoroughly manhandled by Paul Skenes today. As an aside, this was the first time I had actually watched Skenes pitch this year and the eye test tells you everything you’ve heard. He featured seven distinct pitches and amassed an impressive 15 swings and misses across his six-plus inning outing. It felt as if the Arizona hitters were simply guessing much of the time – and guessing incorrectly to boot. They managed two “rallies” against the ace: in the third with a two-out double from Carroll and a rare hit by pitch for Geraldo Perdomo before Lourdes Gurriel Jr was quickly dispatched to end the inning. And in the sixth, Gurriel Jr reached on a one-out error from Kiner-Falefa and Josh Naylor dropped a single into center before Eugenio Suarez just missed a homer and Pavin Smith harmlessly grounded out to extinguish even the hint of an actual rally.
It has become an all-too-familiar refrain for the D-Backs in 2025: for every positive step forward, there are seemingly at least two steps backward. Just two weeks ago, they split a four-game series with the Dodgers and then pulled off consecutive series wins against the Giants and Rockies. Since then, they’ve proceeded to lose three straight series, including a road sweep against the Cardinals and now a home series loss against the scuffling Pirates who entered the series with the second-worst offense in the league. I certainly don’t want to sound alarmist. After all, we’re barely a third of the way through the season, the team still has 10 games against the lowly Rockies, and we’ve seen exactly how potent this offense can be when it’s clicking. I’m not worried about the team viz a playoff appearance, but I won’t try to sugarcoat the fact that the vibes surrounding them are completely off and that they desperately need a change of some kind. Here’s hoping that a day off tomorrow to lick their wounds gives them some motivation against the visiting Nationals this weekend.
