Arizona's Offense Is Broken — And a .083-Hitting First Baseman Returning Won't Fix It

The Arizona Diamondbacks fell 4-2 to Pittsburgh at Chase Field Thursday, completing a dispiriting homestand stretch that has now seen them drop six of seven and nine of their last 12, sliding two games below .500. Mitch Keller and four Pirates relievers held Arizona to two hits and two walks after the third inning — a damning performance from an offense that was supposed to be one of the better units in the National League.

The numbers here are genuinely ugly. Arizona has scored 21 runs over its last seven games, and nine of those came in a single Tuesday blowout. Strip that outlier away and the D-backs are averaging two runs per game across their last six. Manager Torey Lovullo didn't hide from it postgame: 'We're making it way harder than it should be.' Corbin Carroll's fifth homer of the season accounted for one of Arizona's two runs Thursday, and Adrian Del Castillo drove in the other with a first-inning single. After that? Silence.

The supposed cavalry is Carlos Santana, rehabbing at Triple-A Reno after straining his right adductor and carrying a .083/.154/.125 slash line in 26 preinjury plate appearances. He could return as soon as Friday. The problem isn't finding roster space — Arizona has optionable depth — it's that Santana has nowhere meaningful to slot in. Ildemaro Vargas, filling in at first base since the injury, has gone on a 27-game hitting streak and won NL Player of the Month honors. Lovullo confirmed he won't pull Vargas's playing time. DH isn't a clean answer either, with rookie Jose Fernandez and Del Castillo both producing there.

For bettors, this offense is a live fade. Arizona's team totals have been set in the 4.5–5 range in recent series, and the underlying production doesn't support clearing that bar consistently right now. Two runs per game over six contests is a hard trend to ignore. With the lineup's structural issues — no clear fix at the bottom of the order, a displaced veteran creating roster noise rather than run production — the under on Arizona's team total carries real value until this offense shows signs of life beyond single-game eruptions.

Carroll's power is the one isolatable bright spot. His fifth homer Thursday keeps his pop profile intact even as the lineup around him collapses, making his home run and total bases props worth watching as positive value plays when his matchup is favorable. But in terms of team-level output, Arizona is in a genuine funk, not a cold snap — and there's no obvious catalyst on the horizon to break it.