How the Loss in Milwaukee Ruined the Diamondbacks' Season

One game towards the end of a 162 game season sent the D-backs spiraling

Sep 22, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo makes a pitching change in the fifth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks won 89 games in in 2024, falling one win short of making the Postseason. No longer controlling their own fate, they were eliminated during an agonizing doubleheader between the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves on Monday.

The Diamondbacks needed one of the teams to sweep, but instead they split. It was the Diamondbacks' own collapse over the last week of the season, losing five of their last seven games, that put themselves in that position.

There was one loss that stood out more than any other, that being the game they blew an 8-0 lead to lose 10-9 on Sunday, September 22 to the Brewers in Milwaukee. Handed an 8-3 lead in the fifth inning, the bullpen melted down late, resulting in the most devastating loss of the year.

Speaking at the end of season press conference on Tuesday, Torey Lovullo pointed to that game as the turning point. "That was a painful loss. That's the one we all go back to. When I am thinking externally, that's the one that I think about, and I think everyone else does too."

"Coming back home from Milwaukee I was very curious to see how this team would respond. We had a couple days where I think we were hungover. That's something I wish we had cycled through and gotten through from the experience we had last year. But I think something happened to this team, from that game, that's my gut feel."

Hungover is a good way to put it. The D-backs came home to Chase Field and lost to the Giants 6-3 and 11-0 before finally salvaging that series finale. By that point the team was playing tight, and lost must-win games to the Padres 5-3 and 3-0. The league's leading offense had dried up.

General Manager Mike Hazen had different thoughts however. He pointed to the fact that there were plenty of other games during the season that contributed to the team being in this situation.

"That's what we focus on, [the last week], but that's not really true. You look at where we were in April and May and the opportunities we had. Some of the games we had the first time we went into Atlanta."

He was referring to the games on April 5 and 6 in Truist Park. They blew a 5-2 lead to get walked off in extra innings April 5. The next day they blew a 6-0 first inning lead, ultimately losing 9-8.

All teams have walk-off wins and losses during a season. The D-backs had nine walk-off wins and 10 walk-off losses in 2024. A deficit of one. As they head into the offseason, none will haunt them more than the loss in Milwaukee.

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