Diamondbacks fans have spent plenty of time groaning about runners left on base, but the numbers tell a more complicated story.
Through games played by 17 September, Arizona had scored 77.3% of its runs with runners in scoring position. That was the second-highest rate in MLB, behind only the Brewers at 80.7%. So while the frustration has been real, the Diamondbacks were actually turning a huge share of their offense into production when it mattered most.
The bigger question is how they got there. Their power with RISP was solid, but not overwhelming.
Arizona hit .0292 home runs per plate appearance with RISP, a touch above the MLB average of .0277 and good for 11th in the league. That points to a fairly balanced approach rather than a team living and dying by the long ball.
To dig into how well the Diamondbacks really hit in those spots, the comparison comes down to three key measures: OBP, SLG and wOBA. The split that matters most is whether the tying or go-ahead run was on base, because that’s where the leverage spikes. Another useful lens is recent performance, from 1 August to 15 September, versus the full-season numbers.
Torey Lovullo’s recent comments lined up with the idea that slugging has been the missing ingredient lately. After the work on this was done, he said, “…And then we hit and slugged with men in scoring position.
That’s been something that’s kind of been a missing piece of this puzzle foe a few weeks.” That fit the numbers.
From 1 to 19 September, with the tying or go-ahead run on base, Arizona posted a .390 SLG, which ranked 20th in MLB. For all RISP situations in that span, the Diamondbacks were at .405 SLG and ranked 18th.
Over the full season, the Diamondbacks were better in RISP situations when the tying or go-ahead run was already aboard. Their wOBA and SLG improved in that split, while OBP stayed the same.
SLG was the standout, wOBA was more middle-of-the-pack, and OBP lagged behind. In the full-season sample with the tying or go-ahead run on base and a 10-plate-appearance minimum, Jose Fernandez led the team with a .706 SLG in 20 plate appearances.
The more recent stretch told a slightly different story. From 1 August to 15 September, Arizona’s SLG with the tying or go-ahead run on base held about steady and remained ranked highly compared with the rest of the league.
But wOBA and OBP slipped, even if their overall standing stayed roughly in line with the season-long numbers. In all RISP situations during that same window, though, both SLG and wOBA climbed noticeably.
That late-season stretch also produced a new leader. From 1 August to 15 September, with the tying or go-ahead run on base and at least 10 relevant plate appearances, Corbin Carroll posted a team-best .800 SLG in 18 plate appearances. Ryan Waldschmidt was right behind him at .786 in 16 plate appearances.
So the bottom line is straightforward: the Diamondbacks were not nearly as bad with RISP as the complaints suggested. They scored a huge share of their runs in those spots, and when the situation got even more tense with the tying or go-ahead run on base, their slugging was a real strength over the season - even if the recent stretch showed some unevenness in OBP and wOBA.
In Other News...
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 🡒]
Dbacks Kept Their Season Alive But The Real Pressure Starts Now
The Diamondbacks did what they had to do against the Rockies, jumping on Colorado early with three runs in the first inning and then leaning on a steady night from Michael Soroka to keep the game from drifting away. Soroka worked seven innings, gave up one earned run and struck out nine, the kind of outing Arizona needed in a game with no margin for error.
Nolan Arenado tried to flip the script with a three-run homer in the seventh, his 28th of the season and his third hit of the night, but Arizona held on and kept its season breathing. Even with that win, the bigger issue now is not the box score from one night in Denver, it is whether the Diamondbacks can keep stacking clean innings and timely offense when the pressure only gets louder from here. [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 🡒]