Diamondbacks' late-inning relief remains franchise joke

Leading 8-0 Monday night at Chase Field, players on the Arizona Diamondbacks’ bench smiled, laughed and cracked jokes. Their problems were behind them, right?

They should have known.

Once starter Michael Soroka (1-0) completed five scoreless frames, including an immaculate inning, and Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo allowed the bullpen to take command and the Detroit Tigers started to rally.

With Joe Ross working in the seventh inning, rookie Kevin McGonigle walked and catcher Dillon Dingler snapped the shutout bid with an RBI double. By the time Spencer Torkelson connected on an RBI double off Ryan Thompson, the Tigers cut their deficit to 8-6. Thompson's final eight pitches out of the strike zone.

The joking ceased along the Diamondbacks’ bench. The franchise’s years-long bullpen problems continue to persist.

Eleven times last season, the Diamondbacks allowed five or more runs after the sixth inning.

They’ve already done it once in four games this season.

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Matchup problems continue to plague the bullpen’s composition. The Diamondbacks opened the campaign with eight right-handed relievers and zero lefties.

During the Tigers’ six-run seventh inning, Lovullo decided to leave the struggling Ross to face left-handed hitters Colt Keith and Riley Green. Keith, who registered a .403 OPS against southpaws last season, drove in two runs with a double and Greene delivered an RBI single.

In two-thirds of an inning, Ross yielded six runs on five hits and two balks, which appeared to rattle his confidence.

The Diamondbacks (1-3) held on to defeat the Tigers, 9-6, for their first win of the season, but their bullpen remains a joke.