The Arizona Diamondbacks walked into a must-win game against the Rockies and treated it like one, jumping ahead early and never really letting go. A three-run first inning set the tone, and from there Arizona played from in front the rest of the way in a 7-2 win at Coors Field.
Michael Soroka was the biggest reason the night stayed under control. He worked seven innings, gave up just one earned run and struck out nine, and he did it with a breaking ball that held up better than it usually does in Denver.
His trademark slurve was sharp enough to keep the Rockies from ever finding much rhythm. Soroka finished the season at 9-5 with a 3.31 ERA in 21 games, a line that could make for an interesting offseason conversation, especially after a pair of strong late-season outings at age 29.
Arizona’s offense wasted no time giving him room to work. Gabi started the scoring with an RBI double, Geraldo Perdomo followed with an RBI single and Corbin Carroll added an RBI double. After that, the Diamondbacks kept the pressure on by moving runners and cashing in with sacrifice flies, continuing to stack up small, efficient wins at the plate.
Then Nolan Arenado took over in the seventh in his old ballpark. He launched a 421-foot home run to left field, his 28th of the year and his third hit of the game. Over his last 15 games, Arenado is hitting .400 with seven home runs and an .836 slugging percentage.
With the season tightening up, Soroka and Arenado gave Arizona the kind of night it needed. The Diamondbacks now have their elimination number down to 2 after the Phillies won, and the Padres also lost to the Dodgers. If Arizona can gain one game on San Diego over the next two games, it will head into this weekend’s series in San Diego with some control over its own fate.
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Corbin Burnes Puts Arizonas 2027 Rotation Hopes In Focus
The Diamondbacks are still hanging around the postseason picture, even if the path is a steep one, and a lot of their long-term outlook is starting to point toward the mound. Corbin Burnes has been working his way back from Tommy John surgery, and while his early outings this year have come with a high ERA, the bigger story in Arizona is less about the short-term stat line and more about what he can mean when the rotation is whole again.
For a club that has leaned on offense at times and still needs more certainty in the pitching mix, Burnes looms as a key piece of the 2027 plan. His return is viewed as important for strengthening the Diamondbacks rotation, which gives his recovery a different kind of significance than the usual late-season rehab storyline. Even with the current playoff chase still alive, the organization is clearly keeping one eye on the future shape of this staff. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Offensive Frustration Looks Different In The Biggest Moments
The Diamondbacks have spent much of the season looking like a team that can do damage when the moment sharpens, and the numbers back it up. A huge share of their scoring has come with runners in scoring position, which is part of why this offense has been so dangerous even when it has not always looked smooth from inning to inning. The power is there, and in the biggest swings of the game, Arizona has often found a way to cash in.
What makes the profile more interesting is how uneven the production has been underneath that success. The clubs slugging in RISP spots has been strong, but the on-base work has lagged behind, which helps explain why some rallies feel more fragile than they should. Recent stretches from August into mid-September have shown the same push-and-pull, with Jos Fernndez, Corbin Carroll and Ryan Waldschmidt standing out for the way theyve driven the ball in those situations while the broader question of consistency still hangs over the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Face A Brutal Margin For Error In Playoff Chase
The Diamondbacks have reached the point of the season where every result around them matters almost as much as their own. Their path to the postseason is now tied to how they finish the rest of their schedule and to what the Phillies do in the final stretch, turning each night into a scoreboard-watching exercise as much as a baseball game.
Arizona also has a pivotal series ahead against the Rockies, and it looms as one of the biggest tests left in the chase. The combination of needing help elsewhere and taking care of business at home leaves the Diamondbacks with a narrow lane, which is exactly why this weekend could go a long way toward deciding whether their season keeps going. [Read more 🡒]