Arizona Diamondbacks to stick with bullpen roles amid Kevin Ginkel's struggles
The past week has not been kind to Kevin Ginkel, with the Diamondbacks’ typically reliable set-up man having allowed four runs in as many outings. But before Tuesday’s game against the Reds, manager Torey Lovullo said he has no plans to give Ginkel work in lower-leverage situations.
“Not right now,” Lovullo said. “I'm gonna stay with him for right now.”
After Monday’s game, in which Ginkel blew an eighth inning lead, pitching coach Brent Strom pored over video, finding a mechanical issue with his landing foot. The Diamondbacks hope that the minor tweak will help Ginkel get back to his best.
One of Ginkel’s poor outings came Saturday in Baltimore, when he was bit by a home run on a well-located pitch off the plate. The other two, though, were more his doing, with poor command leading to both walks and base hits.
Lovullo, though, does not like to move players in and out of bullpen roles based on tiny sample sizes. And since last June, Ginkel has been one of the better relief pitchers in baseball. Including the postseason, he has a 2.19 ERA in that span, with more than a strikeout per inning.
Ginkel’s recent struggles have come in contrast to fireballer Justin Martinez, who has a 0.71 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 12⅔ innings this year. But while the 22-year-old Martinez is seen as a future closer, he is still a young player learning how to pitch with consistency at the major league level.
“I want to be careful with Justin,” Lovullo said. “It's a young body, it's a young mind. It's just my sense. When I feel like it's time to run, he's gonna run. But I want to manage him the best way I can because he is on the right trajectory and I don't want that to go backwards. He's had some really, really good moments lately. And we're gonna enjoy the ride with him and he's gonna tell us when that time is and I don't want to do it too quick or too soon.”
Wednesday’s Diamondbacks-Reds pitching matchup
Reds at Diamondbacks, 12:40 p.m., Cox, Ch. 34
Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (1-3, 4.60) vs. Reds LHP Andrew Abbott (2-4, 3.35).
At Chase Field: Pfaadt gave up three runs in six innings against the Orioles on Friday in Baltimore, walking two and striking out none. It was an unusual drop in strikeouts considering he punched out 11 in six innings two starts ago. … He has faced the Reds twice in his career, allowing five runs in 11-1/3 innings. When he faced them on July 22 of last season, he fired five scoreless innings before serving up three consecutive homers in the sixth inning. … Abbott has given up two runs in five innings in each of his past two starts, most recently earning a victory in a 4-2 win over the Giants. … He has given up more than two earned runs in only one of his eight starts. … Abbott has not faced the Diamondbacks yet in his career.
Coming up
Thursday: Off.
Friday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (2-2, 5.33) vs. Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal (5-0, 2.02).
Saturday: At Chase Field, 5:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (5-2, 2.86) vs. Tigers RHP Jack Flaherty (0-3, 3.88).
Sunday: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Jordan Montgomery (2-2, 4.76) vs. Tigers RHP Matt Manning (0-1, 4.37).
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks to not shake up bullpen amid Kevin Ginkel's struggles
