DBacks’ manager Lovullo speaks after loss, three-game-sweep to Reds
Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo speaks following the team’s loss and three-game-sweep by the Cincinnati Reds.
The Diamondbacks placed right-hander Kendall Graveman on the 15-day injured list with a right hip impingement, replacing him on the roster with right-hander Christian Montes de Oca.
Manager Torey Lovullo said it was not clear when Graveman could return, but he said the veteran reliever had been dealing with the issue for more than two weeks, adding that it had played a role in Graveman’s availability on certain days.
Graveman was hit hard in his most recent appearance, giving up six runs on five hits, two walks and a hit batter in an appearance on Saturday, June 7, in Cincinnati.
This is Graveman’s second stint on the injured list. He opened the year there as he recovered from a back issue that popped up in spring training.
The Diamondbacks had hoped Graveman, whom they signed in February, would be able to hold down a late-inning role for them. He had been relatively effective prior to the Reds outing, but he has made just nine appearances so far this season.
Surgery date set for Corbin Burnes
Lovullo said right-hander Corbin Burnes will undergo Tommy John surgery on June 11. The procedure will be performed in Los Angeles by Dr. Neal ElAttrache.
It was announced last week that Burnes would require surgery. He suffered the injury during a start against the Washington Nationals on June 1, walking off the mound after throwing a pitch with two out in the fifth inning.
Burnes, who is in the first year of a six-year, $210 million deal, will miss the rest of this season. The hope is that he will return sometime during the second half of next season.
Lovullo: Corbin Carroll battling hamstring tightness
Right fielder Corbin Carroll is in the lineup for the second consecutive day after missing time over the weekend due to hamstring tightness, Lovullo said.
“He was laboring, his lower-half was laboring a little bit, and that’s such a strong part of his game,” Lovullo said. “He’s getting very close to being 100 percent.”
Lovullo intimated that Carroll was playing through the tightness in the final game in Atlanta last week.
Meanwhile, catcher Gabriel Moreno is out of the lineup for the third consecutive game after taking a foul ball of his right hand on June 7 in Cincinnati.
Lovullo said Moreno is feeling good enough to be a “true backup” on June 9 – he had been emergency only on June 8 – and was “very close” to returning to the starting lineup.
Diamondbacks vs. Mariners, 6:40 p.m., Ch. 34 and FS1
Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (6-2, 3.43) vs. Mariners RHP Emerson Hancock (2-2, 5.19).
At Chase Field: The Mariners fell out of first place this week and entered Sunday, June 8, on a five-game losing streak. The Diamondbacks hope they’ve drawn the former AL West leaders on the schedule at the right time, with Seattle struggling. Kelly gets the ball to open the series and is coming off seven scoreless innings on one hit at Atlanta in his last start. He’s faced the Mariners just once in his career and is 0-1, but he has not taken a loss in more than a month this season. … Hancock, originally drafted by the Diamondbacks in the 38th round out of high school in 2017, was taken in the first round in 2020 by the Mariners. He’s spent the past two seasons splitting time between Seattle and Triple-A Tacoma, but has been in the big leagues all of this season. Hancock has a win in his only career start against the Diamondbacks, but this season, he has been prone to giving up early runs before settling down.
–Jose M. Romero
Coming up
Tuesday, June 10: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (7-4, 5.51) vs. Mariners RHP Bryan Woo (5-3, 3.07).
Wednesday, June 11: At Chase Field, 12:40 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (1-3, 7.05) vs. Mariners RHP Bryce Miller (2-5, 5.73).
Thursday, June 12: Off
Friday, June 13: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (2-2, 4.60) vs. San Diego Padres RHP Stephen Kolek (3-1, 3.00).
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