Diamondbacks' Pitching Woes Threaten Bullpen

0:00It's May 1st, you're listening to MLB News Today, AI-powered baseball coverage. I'm Cory with the story. The Arizona Diamondbacks are facing a real headache with their starting pictures this season. Last year in 2025, those arms chewed up innings like nobody's business, averaging 5.5 per start, second only to the Phillies. But now in 2026, that numbers dip to five innings flat, heading into their series against the Brewers, sitting right under the league. Average of 5.1. Things got worse Thursday when Michael Soroka lasted just three innings, dropping their average even lower. No Diamondback starter has gone six or more since April 17 against the Blue Jays, and over the last nine starts, they've posted a brutal 10. 0.69 ERA. That's putting way too much pressure on a bullpen that's not exactly lights out. Manager Tori LeVulo laid it out straight after a recent blowout loss, saying they need starters to set the tone and go deeper, because flooding the pen every night isn't sustainable.

1:03They scraped by with some winds, but it's taxing the relievers, leading to tired arms and shaky results. Digging deeper, the big issue is, Command starters are walking way too many guys. Eduardo Rodriguez gave up four free passes in 4.2 innings on just 87 pitches. Merrill Kelly needed 104 pitches for five innings with five walks, and the whole rotation hit only 58% strikes in there. Milwaukee series, even Zach Gallang got sideline early by a comeback or after cruising. If they don't start pounding the zone and eating innings, this rotation and bullpened could spiral further out of control, turning a shaky start into a full meldown.