The Diamondbacks are still not done, but the path in front of them is getting a whole lot cleaner.
Arizona kept rolling Friday night in San Diego, blasting the Padres 11-4 at Petco Park and stretching its winning streak to six games. At the same time, the Phillies fell 2-0 to the Rays, trimming the Diamondbacks’ deficit to one game for the final NL Wild Card spot with two games left on the schedule.
The catch: Arizona still doesn’t fully control its own destiny. The good news is that the tiebreaker belongs to the Diamondbacks, which makes the equation straightforward. Any combination of Diamondbacks wins or Phillies losses that adds up to two sends Arizona in and Philadelphia out.
The pressure is starting to show on the other side, too. While the Diamondbacks have won six in a row, the Phillies have dropped three straight.
Friday’s win started fast and never really slowed down. Coming off a three-game sweep of the Rockies, a stretch in which they scored in the first inning of every game, the Diamondbacks jumped on Casey Mize right away again. Lars Nootbaar turned Mize’s very first pitch of the game into a homer to the right-field bleachers, and Arizona kept pouring it on from there.
By the end of the fourth inning, the Diamondbacks had already stacked up seven runs, with three in the first, one in the second, two in the third and another in the fourth. That early cushion let Brandon Pfaadt settle in and work deep into the game, and he went 7 2/3 innings.
That mattered even more with Corbin Burnes on the IL and not making the start Saturday night. Pfaadt’s length Friday gave the bullpen a breather and left Arizona in position to potentially turn to a bullpen game with all of its top arms available.
In Other News...
Diamondbacks Roster Move Puts Jesus Sanchez In A Tough Spot
Gabriel Morenos left hamstring injury has already forced the Diamondbacks to shuffle their catching mix, with Moreno expected to serve as the designated hitter in the next game while James McCann handles the workload behind the plate. To cover the backup role, Arizona is set to bring up a Triple-A catcher, a move that also clears the path for another roster change as the club tries to patch together its depth on the fly.
That opening leaves Jesus Sanchez in a difficult spot. Arizona is designating the outfielder for assignment to make room, and the move reflects how quickly his opportunity faded after the team claimed him off waivers from the Blue Jays. Sanchez has struggled on both offense and defense this season, and unless something unexpected changes in the process, he is expected to be released after clearing waivers. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Playoff Push Just Got A Lot More Complicated
Brandon Pfaadt did his part in the opener, working 7.2 innings and allowing four runs as the Diamondbacks took game one of the series, but the bigger news around the club arrived after the final out. Corbin Burnes was placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation following an MRI, leaving Arizona to reshuffle a rotation that was already under pressure as the postseason chase tightens.
Ryne Nelson is expected to get the ball in game two, while Gabriel Moreno is expected to be fine after leaving early with leg tightness and should stay in the lineup as the designated hitter once the club brings up another catcher. The roster churn did not stop there, either, with Jesus Sanchez designated for assignment, another reminder that Arizona is trying to patch holes on the fly while keeping pace in a crowded race. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Suddenly Face A Brutal Wild Card Problem
Eury Perezs complete-game one-hitter in Miami was the kind of outing that can ripple well beyond the NL East, and it landed at a time when the playoff picture in the National League is getting crowded in a hurry. For Arizona, the bigger takeaway was its own momentum, with the Diamondbacks stretching their winning streak to six and tightening the race for the final wild card spot.
The Diamondbacks are now one game behind the Phillies for that last berth, and they hold the tiebreaker, which gives them a real edge in a chase that keeps getting more uncomfortable for Philadelphia. Around the league, there have been no shortage of notable milestones and end-of-season wrinkles, but Arizonas focus is squarely on the standings and the chance to keep pressing a Phillies club that suddenly has less room for error. [Read more 🡒]