The Arizona Diamondbacks entered Mother's Day weekend with a record just below .500, and while they managed to win their series against the New York Mets to climb within one game of the break-even mark, a deeper issue has emerged that's raising eyebrows across the league.

While the pitching staff has certainly had its moments of struggle, much of the blame for Arizona's inconsistent start falls squarely on the offense. And according to a recent internal deep dive by the team, there's one "alarming" statistic that stands out above the rest—one that manager Torey Lovullo himself called out after the self-scouting report surfaced.

As reported by USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the Diamondbacks discovered that they have seen a staggering 400 fewer pitches this season compared to the same point last year—when their offense ranked sixth in all of baseball in runs scored. That's a massive drop-off in plate discipline and a clear red flag for a team that prides itself on putting together competitive at-bats.

The good news? This issue can be fixed, and the solution comes down to three key statistics that the Diamondbacks need to improve immediately: chase rate, on-base percentage, and walks.

Let's start with walks. Arizona currently ranks second-to-last in all of MLB with just 110 free passes this season. Only the San Francisco Giants (with a woeful 80 walks) have been worse. That lack of patience at the plate is a direct contributor to the reduced pitch count and puts unnecessary pressure on the lineup to produce hits rather than work counts.

On-base percentage tells a similar story. The Diamondbacks currently sit at a .299 OBP, which ranks 27th in baseball—ahead of only the San Diego Padres, Giants, and New York Mets. While their recent series against the Mets showed some improvement in this area, there's still plenty of work to be done to get back to the patient, productive offense that made them a postseason threat last year.

But the most important fix lies in their chase rate. Even if the walks and OBP numbers improve, the Diamondbacks won't see lasting success unless they start swinging at better pitches. According to Baseball Savant, Arizona's chase rate is among the worst in the league, meaning they're expanding the strike zone far too often and letting pitchers off the hook. If they can tighten up their approach and force opposing hurlers to throw strikes, the pitch count will naturally climb—and so will the runs.

For a team with playoff aspirations, this is a fixable problem. It just requires a renewed commitment to plate discipline and a willingness to grind out at-bats. If the Diamondbacks can improve in these three areas, that 400-pitch gap will close quickly, and their offense will be back to doing what it does best: scoring runs in bunches.