The D-backs are still hanging by a thread, but Nolan Arenado gave them one more jolt of life on Sunday.
After a foul ball nearly turned into a game-flipping grand slam in the bottom of the fifth, Arenado stepped back in one pitch later and crushed the next offering into the left-field seats. That swing sent Chase Field into a frenzy and changed the shape of Arizona’s 8-4 win over the Yankees in the 2026 regular-season home finale.
It was Arenado’s ninth career grand slam and his third this season, which ties Paul Goldschmidt (2013) and Eugenio Suárez (2025) for the most in a single season in franchise history. The blast also helped spark the D-backs’ 47th comeback win of the year, the most in the Majors.
The timing, though, doesn’t make the math any easier. The Cubs, Padres and Phillies all won Sunday too, leaving Arizona four games back of the third and final National League Wild Card spot with six games left.
The D-backs still have a three-game set against San Diego next week, but they enter that series trailing the Padres by five games. In other words, Arizona has to cut two games out of that gap before it even gets to Petco Park next Friday if it wants to keep October in play.
For all the uncertainty ahead, the D-backs did finish their home schedule on a high note. Their 45-37 record at Chase Field gave them their best home season since 2017, when they went 53-29.
In Other News...
D-Backs Tribute Put One Current Young Arm Right In The Moment
The Diamondbacks weekend tribute to their 2001 World Series champions gave Chase Field a flashback feel, with Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling back in the building and introduced as the co-MVPs from that title run. The two pitchers even recreated the trophy raise in the same spot where the celebration happened in 2001, turning a regular-season series against the Yankees into a reminder of the franchises biggest moment.
For the current roster, the event was more than nostalgia. Young reliever Justin Martinez was among the players who spent time with the former champions, and he made it clear how much he valued the chance to be around them and pick up whatever he could. For a club still shaping its next core, those kinds of interactions can matter just as much as the ceremony itself. [Read more 🡒]
Torey Lovullo's Future Just Raised The Stakes For Diamondbacks Fans
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Lovullo is not under contract beyond 2026, and he expects to be let go if the Diamondbacks miss the playoffs again. With a difficult schedule still ahead, the path to October remains narrow enough on its own, but now there is also a looming question about how much patience the organization will have if the chase falls short. [Read more 🡒]
Nolan Arenado's Decision Is Giving The Diamondbacks A Real Chance
Nolan Arenados willingness to keep playing through a left intercostal injury and an inflamed thumb has become one of the more notable developments in the Diamondbacks late-season chase. Arizona wanted to put him on the injured list, but Arenado pushed back on that idea and stayed in the lineup, giving the club another veteran bat at a time when every game carries extra weight.
Since then, he has been productive enough to matter in a meaningful way, hitting .321 with a 1.031 OPS over 16 games in September. That kind of stretch does not solve everything, but it has helped keep Arizona within 4.0 games of the NL Wild Card race, and it gives the Diamondbacks a better shot than they seemed to have when the injury first surfaced. [Read more 🡒]