Diamondbacks Bullpen Spoils Miraculous Comeback at Wrigley Field

The Diamondbacks lost the first of a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field by a score of 13-11. They exploded for 10 runs in the eighth, but squandered it, as the two teams combined for 33 hits and 24 runs.

Burnes entered Friday's game with a career 3.36 ERA against the Cubs, 3.00 at Wrigley Field. However, he sported a 2-5 record with three Tough Losses (a loss charged to the starter despite pitching a Quality Start).

Friday continued that trend for Burnes. He ran into some early base traffic, struggling to locate his cutter, as has been the issue so far this season. However, he worked around two singles in the first inning to end it scoreless.

In the second inning, the ever-pesky Pete Crow-Armstrong doubled with two outs. Then former Diamondback Carson Kelly sent a middle-middle cutter over the fences for a two-run homer. Kelly is now hitting an exceptional .419 with six home runs in limited plate appearances on the season.

But from there, Burnes settled into another solid start. After that two-run shot, the Cubs were a measly 2-for-15 against him, and he finished the sixth inning on just nine pitches, going four scoreless innings down the stretch.

Burnes struck out only three and allowed six hits, but limited the damage to two earned runs, and didn't walk a batter, collecting a six-inning Quality Start. The D-backs' starting rotation has now allowed three or fewer runs in nine straight starts.

Arizona's offense couldn't muster much in the way of run support for Burnes. It wasn't until the fifth inning that they got a run across, with Gabriel Moreno doubling to lead off the inning. With two outs and Moreno at third, Corbin Carroll extended his on-base streak to 20 games to open the season, and his hit streak to 11 games.

Geraldo Perdomo then doubled down the left field line, but he and Carroll were ultimately stranded.

But in the eighth inning, Arizona began to build another lopsided number. Randal Grichuk, Josh Naylor and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. each singled without recording an out, forcing Chicago to go to setup man Porter Hodge.

Then Eugenio Suárez, in the midst of a 5-for-52 slide, got a four-seamer in the heart of the zone. Suárez crushed it 458 feet to left center field for a grand slam — his second of the season. Suddenly, the D-backs were back in the contest, but they weren't done there.

Jake McCarthy walked with one out. Alek Thomas singled, and a wild pitch put the tying run at second with one out. After a Carroll strikeout, Perdomo got just enough into a ground ball to score a run on a base hit, but a nice play by shortstop Dansby Swanson held the play to just one run.

Then the chaos truly began. Randal Grichuk chopped what would have been an easy final out to third base, but the ball got under the glove of Gage Workman. Perdomo took off for home as the go-ahead run, and despite the throw beating him by a significant stretch, Kelly couldn't hang on, and Arizona suddenly had an 8-7 lead.

Then Naylor walked, and with runners at the corners, Gurriel deposted another ball into the Wrigley Field stands, stretching the lead to 11-7.

In all, the Diamondbacks hung an unbelievable 10 runs in the eighth, facing three different Cubs relievers.

Unfortunately, however, the D-backs' bullpen faced woes of its own with Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk both down after back-to-back outings. Bryce Jarvis hit a batter and issued a walk, before giving up a second home run to Kelly and shrinking Arizona's lead to 11-10.

Joe Mantiply then surrendered the game with one out, allowing two home runs to Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki to give the Cubs a 13-11 lead. The two teams combined for seven home runs on the day.

Drained of remaining magic, Arizona stranded a two-out Alek Thomas double in the ninth. The Diamondbacks will be back in action against the Cubs on Saturday at 11:20 a.m.