Diamondbacks Beat Padres 11-2, Now They Wait

The D-backs need a miracle to get into the Postseason and won't know until late Monday afternoon.

Sep 29, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Pfaadt (32) pitches against the San Diego Padres during the third inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks offense finally showed up, albeit a day late, as they defeated the San Diego Padres 11-2 on Sunday. Brandon Pfaadt threw 5.1 innings and struck out nine batters in a strong start. The 2024 regular season is now in the books. The D-backs finished with an 89-73 record.

Despite finishing with five more wins than the 2023 squad, the Diamondbacks have not gotten into the Postseason yet. The New York Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers and the Atlanta Braves lost to the Kansas City Royals.

Those results mean that the only way for Arizona to get into the Postseason is for one of those two teams to sweep Monday's double header between them. If one team sweeps, they fly to Milwaukee to play in the Wild Card round. A doubleheader split means the D-backs are out of the Postseason.

Thus the D-backs will have to wait until the completion of the second game of the doubleheader to know their fate. It's notable that Atlanta has held Cy Young candidate Chris Sale back for game two of that doubleheader. If the Braves lose game one, then they'll pitch Sale. If they win game one, then they save Sale for the Wild Card round against the Padres.

The D-backs managed just two hits while being shut out in Saturday's game, and had struggled most of the last week to score runs. But facing Martin Perez and Matt Waldron, they rapped out 16 hits.

Kete Marte hit his 36th homer of the year in a six-run fourth inning. Prior to that the D-backs were losing 1-0, despite the fact that Pfaadt was pitching very well. Eugenio Suarez, Jake McCarthy, and Gabriel Moreno all had RBI hits before Marte's long ball.

Suarez hit his 30th homer of the year in the seventh inning, and finished with 101 RBI for the season. The Diamondbacks have a $15 million team option on the veteran third baseman, or a three million buyout. It seems like a forgone conclusion the team will pick that up.

Randal Grichuk capped off a strong September with his 12th homer of the year. Grichuk has a mutual option for $6 million and is almost certain to decline his end in pursuit of a multi-year deal.

Ryne Nelson made his first appearance since his return from the injured list, pitching three scoreless innings and allowing just one baserunner. Pfaadt finishes the season with 11-10 record and a 4.71 ERA.

Stay tuned to Arizona Diamondbacks ON SI for continued coverage of the D-backs' pursuit of a Postseason spot.