The Arizona Diamondbacks have spent the final week of the season trying to claw back into the NL Wild Card race, and they’re doing it with Nolan Arenado right in the middle of the push.
Arizona enters the final week 4.0 games back, and one of the biggest reasons the club still has a shot is Arenado’s recent surge. That stretch almost never happened, though. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the Diamondbacks wanted to put Arenado on the injured list a few weeks ago because of a left intercostal injury and an inflamed thumb, but he pushed back.
“The Diamondbacks wanted to place Arenado on the IL a few weeks ago with a left intercostal injury and an inflamed thumb, but he refused, insisting he could play through the injuries in the pennant race,” Nightengale writes.
That decision has paid off in a big way. Arenado has been productive for Arizona all season, but since the start of September he’s been on another level. In 16 games and 56 at-bats, he has 18 hits, seven runs scored, two doubles, five home runs, nine RBIs, seven walks, a .321 batting average, and a 1.031 OPS.
For a Diamondbacks team still trying to chase down a postseason spot, that kind of production matters. If Arenado hadn’t kept swinging it the way he has, Arizona could be looking up at a much bigger gap than four games as play begins Sunday, September 20.
The Diamondbacks’ playoff fate is still unsettled, but so far Arenado’s choice to stay on the field instead of going on the injured list has given them exactly what they needed.
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