Updated July 17, 2026, 11:17 p.m. MT
As they emerged from the All-Star break, the Diamondbacks seemed to believe they had turned a corner. Their play had been crisp. They were winning games. They thought they finally were about to get their season off the ground.
Count manager Torey Lovullo among those who shared that belief – and it seemed to help explain his level of frustration after a messy, 5-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, July 17, at Chase Field.
“I’m pretty pissed,” Lovullo said. “… You guys saw it. That’s not DBack baseball. Especially coming off the type of baseball we were playing.”
Imagine the sort of blunders that would cause smoke to shoot from Lovullo’s ears and, odds are, the Diamondbacks committed them on Friday night. There were misplayed ground balls. There was an inability to execute with runners in scoring position. There was a pinch runner picked off first base in the ninth inning.
And, as sort of icing on the cake, there was a game-ending missed strike three call by home plate umpire Bill Miller that went unchallenged by the Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte.
The Diamondbacks went into the break riding a four-game win streak, including a three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium. They were getting contributions throughout their lineup. Their defense was sharp. Their bullpen was dominant.
None of those things showed up consistently for them on Friday.
Starting at the end, Marte’s non-challenge was perhaps the most surprising. With a runner on second and two outs, he took a 100-mph sinker from Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien for what Miller said was strike three. The pitch, according to pitch-tracking data, came in well above the zone.
“I was looking for a breaking ball,” Marte said, when asked why he didn’t challenge. “I got the two-seamer, so I was a little bit surprised.”
The Diamondbacks had successfully challenged four pitches over the course of the game, including one by Marte in the seventh inning.
It was just the sort of moment for which the Diamondbacks intentionally preserve their challenges. Instead, they ended the game with two challenges remaining.
“It’s frustrating, of course,” Lovullo said, “but there are 15 other things that happened in this game that are still eating at me right now.”
Lovullo did not make public his list of grievances, but several of them seemed fairly obvious:
*A ground ball that deflected off pitcher Merrill Kelly in the first inning wound up scooting past Marte, the second baseman, and into center field. It was scored as an error on Marte and led to two unearned runs. “When the ball kind of deflected off of Merrill, my vision, my sight was a little bit off,” Marte said. “Things that happened. No excuses.”
*Four times the Diamondbacks had a runner on third with less than two outs but managed to score only one time. All told, the Diamondbacks went 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position.
*A wild pitch by reliever Juan Morillo helped the Cardinals tack on a key run in the top of the eighth inning.
*Closer Paul Sewald misplayed a ground ball back to the mound to open the top of the ninth inning, setting the stage for the Cardinals to score the go-ahead run.
*Pinch-runner Jorge Barrosa was picked off first by O’Brien with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth, a gaffe that might have cost them a run because Tim Tawa doubled into the left-field corner two batters later.
It could turn out to be an especially costly loss seeing as how it came against a Cardinals team with whom the Diamondbacks are competing for a wild-card spot. The Diamondbacks dropped to 49-48 while the Cardinals moved to 51-45. The Diamondbacks remain 2 1/2 games back of a playoff spot.
—Nick Piecoro
Soroka could return in early August
Diamondbacks right-hander Michael Soroka is pointing toward an early August return, manager Torey Lovullo said Friday, July 17.
Soroka, who has been out since June 19 with a glute strain, is scheduled to log two bullpen sessions in the coming week before possibly throwing a simulated game on July 25.
“That will get him on a timeline somewhere just around the turn of the calendar month,” Lovullo said.
Soroka had been one of the Diamondbacks’ better starters at the time of his injury, logging a 3.07 ERA in 15 starts.
Meanwhile, right-hander Zac Gallen is set to meet with Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Monday, July 20, for a second opinion on his elbow injury, Lovullo said.
Lovullo said the consultation is mainly to map out a plan for a return and that surgery is not believed to be an option.
Right-hander Justin Martinez will take another step in his return from elbow surgery when he faces hitters in a live batting practice session on Saturday, July 18. Martinez has thrown 15 bullpen sessions as he works his way back from his second Tommy John procedure.
— Nick Piecoro
Spivey family takes the field
On a night when the University of Arizona football team was recognized and in attendance at Chase Field, the Spivey family got a special moment together.
Former Diamondbacks infielder Junior Spivey, who was part of the 2001 World Series championship team, took the field with his sons Tre and Kingston, who both play for the Wildcats.
Tre Spivey threw out the ceremonial first pitch to his dad, waiting behind home plate. Tre wore a Diamondbacks jersey in honor of his father and Junior wore a Wildcats football jersey.
-José M. Romero
Diamondbacks’ 2027 schedule features home series vs. Red Sox
The Diamondbacks released a few details about their 2027 game schedule on Thursday, July 16, in conjunction with Major League Baseball’s announcement of its 2027 regular-season schedule.
Highlights include Opening Day in San Diego on Thursday, March 25. The Diamondbacks’ 2027 home opener is Friday, April 2, against the Miami Marlins.
The Diamondbacks have home series over several holidays next season, including Mother’s Day weekend against the Texas Rangers (May 7-9), Father’s Day weekend against the Boston Red Sox (June 18-20) and Independence Day against the San Francisco Giants (July 1-4).
Road series include visits to the New York Yankees (April 9-11), Philadelphia Phillies (April 23-26), Atlanta Braves (May 14-16), Milwaukee Brewers (May 28-30), Toronto Blue Jays (June 8-10), Chicago White Sox (July 9-11) and Chicago Cubs (Aug. 16-18).
— Jose Romero
Diamondbacks announce TV ‘Freeview’
Fresh off a series sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers right before the All-Star break and back in the thick of the National League wild-card race, the Diamondbacks open the proverbial second half of the season Friday night, July 17, against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The team is offering its fan base free streaming access to the second and third games of this series via D-BACKS.TV “Freeview” on Saturday and Sunday, July 18 and 19.
Fans can stream those games against the Cardinals for free by visiting dbacks.com/watch or accessing D-BACKS.TV through MLB platforms. Coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. MST with the pregame show, followed by first pitch at 1:10 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. No subscription or credit card information is required for the “Freeview.”
— Jose Romero
Coming up
Saturday, July 18: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (3-1, 4.70) vs. Cardinals RHP Dustin May (5-6, 4.55).
Sunday, July 19: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (8-3, 2.29) vs. Cardinals RHP Andre Pallante (10-6, 3.96).
Monday, July 20: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Mitch Bratt (0-0, 6.00) vs. Athletics LHP Jeffrey Springs (3-9, 6.08).
Tuesday, July 21: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks TBA vs. Athletics RHP Jack Perkins (2-5, 6.87).
(This story has been updated to add information.)