The Diamondbacks are back at Chase Field for the final home game of the 2026 regular season, and while the path to October looks increasingly narrow after the Phillies’ early surge over the Mets in New York, Arizona is still hanging around at least in a theoretical playoff race through Tuesday night.
That alone keeps some life in the building. The bigger picture, though, is what’s been carrying this team through the stretch run. The rotation has struggled to steady itself, while the bullpen has kept finding ways to drag the Diamondbacks forward.
Corbin Burnes gets the ball again in what amounts to another rehab-style start, even if the leash should be longer this time after he threw 75 pitches in his last outing. That start came against the Marlins and turned ugly fast, with Burnes allowing five runs over 4.2 innings and giving up home runs on consecutive pitches. Still, he remains a major piece of Arizona’s 2027 rotation plans.
The recent results from the starting staff have been thin. Since the opener of the double-header in San Francisco on August 29, Arizona’s starters have picked up just one win, that being Eduardo Rodriguez against Houston two Sundays ago. That’s an eighteen-game span.
The bullpen has gone the other direction. It enters this one 7-2 with a 2.54 ERA in September, and this has not been a fluke one-month run either. It’s the fourth month this season in which Arizona’s relievers have won seven games.
Relief wins can be a messy stat, but the volume is impossible to ignore. With seven games left, the Diamondbacks’ 35 bullpen wins are already tied for the second-most in franchise history. Only the 2023 bullpen has more, with 38, and that group posted a higher ERA at 4.22 compared to this year’s 3.91.
So as the story of the 2026 Diamondbacks starts to come into focus, the relievers are going to be one of the most important chapters. Somehow, that’s Torey’s fault. :)
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
Torey Lovullo has made the next stretch of Diamondbacks baseball feel a lot bigger than the standings alone would suggest. The manager acknowledged that his status for the 2027 season likely hinges on whether Arizona reaches the postseason in 2026, a reality that adds weight to every game as the club pushes for a Wild Card spot.
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 🡒]