D-Backs Eliminated by Errors in San Diego

Game Summary

The fat lady has finally sung on the Diamondbacks 2025 season. To be fair, it lasted much longer than I, or just about anyone other than ChefAZ, would’ve thought, but the D-Backs were officially eliminated from playoff contention after their loss tonight coupled with the Reds win in Milwaukee. The Snakes showed heart to the very end, getting 2 runs in the 8th off a usually tight Padres bullpen and then getting the leadoff runner aboard in the 9th, but our beloved Diamondbacks couldn’t climb all the way back from the hole dug in a 5-run Padre 4th inning.

Zac Gallen wasn’t particularly sharp throughout his outing, but he was effective for the first 3 frames before being bit for 5 runs, with 4 of those coming on a single swing from Fernando Tatis Jr. Beyond the 5-run inning, though, this game was largely lost on the backs of multiple Diamondback physical and mental errors. There were 3 TOOTBLAN for the good guys plus a fielding error by Geraldo Perdomo which led to an unearned run for Zac. With the season on the line, you’d hope the guys were more buttoned up, but perhaps the butter was spread just too thin across the bread tonight after operating in must-win mode for the better part of a month. I don’t fault the players or the manager. They pushed to the very end.

On the managerial front, Torey was pressing every button he could. He used his top relievers even in a negative game script as he knew the whole season hinged on tonight’s outcome. He emptied the bench (even though his pinch hitting options are all hitting below the Mendoza Line) and the team responded with several good ABs, even more impressive considering this Padres’ bullpen’s resume. Again, they all pushed to the 27th out.

Good night, Snakepit. It’s been a pleasure recapping games for you all this season. Looking forward to 2026!

Loss Probability and Box Score

Outside the Box Score

• Ketel’s first inning homer was a no doubter that came on the first pitch he saw from Darvish, a 93mph fastball that was down and in. Marte bent down and golfed it out 410 feet into the right field stands.
• Blaze Alexander worked back from an 0-2 hole to get a full count, lead off walk to start off the second. Unfortunately, he erased his great at bat by getting caught stealing second. He picked a good pitch to run on, a 71mph curveball, but still was out by a considerable margin. He’s now has a SB success rate of 40% this year (4/10).
• Gallen faced one over the minimum in each of his first 2 innings, but it wasn’t efficient work. It took 36 pitches to get through the first 2 frames. Darvish, on the other hand, had thrown 28 pitches to get his first 6 outs, but I’ll take Gallen’s scoreless over Yu’s more efficient innings.
• Jake McCarthy’s homer came on a full-count cutter from Darvish in the third. It was blasted even further than Marte’s, leaving the bat at 109mph and traveling 423 feet down the right field line. That monster preceded a Domo double that caromed off the base of the right field wall back past Tatis and rolled toward center field. Domo tried to stretch his double into a triple, but it was a very foolish decision. Jackson Merrill made a looping, one-hop throw into third that EASILY beat Domo. I was a little scared as Domo came galloping into third because he took a funny step halfway down the base path that looked like he might have blown a tire, but he ended up getting up fine (other than the embarrassment of his terrible mistake).
• Corbin Carroll retired fellow right fielder Fernando Tatis on a spectacular sliding catch in foul territory. Tatis may be a platinum glover, but Corbin ain’t no slouch out there. That stellar play was followed by a booted ball by Blaze to let Arraez reach with 2 outs. It wasn’t an easy play (ruled a single by the hometown scorer), but one that you see most third baseman make trying to backhand a grounder going toward the third base bag. Fortunately, it only cost Zac a single extra pitch since he got Manny Machado to ground out weakly to short immediately thereafter.
• Two seeing eye singles through the hole between 1st and 2nd plated the Padres first run of the night in the 4th. Neither ball was struck hard, but both were placed perfectly to squirt past Ketel and into right field. After that, Gallen got a strikeout of the #8 hitter before walking the #9 hitter to load the bases with 2 outs and face Fernando Tatis. Tatis had been handled easily his first 2 ABs of the night, but Tatis got the better of Zac the third time around  with a full count Grand Slam to put the Padres up 5-2. 
• Ildemaro Vargas laced a double JUST over the leaping glove of Fernando Tatis for a leadoff double. After review, though, Vargas popped up off the bag during his slide and Bogaerts was right there to apply the tag. A third TOOTBLAN of the night for the Snakes.
• Geraldo Perdomo roped a 2-out line drive off the chalk down the right field foul line, but the umpire was so busy avoiding the screaming line drive that he didn’t see where the ball hit grass so he called it foul. The umpires initiated a crew chief review and got the call right, placing Domo on second.
• Zac’s final batter of the season, and likely as a Diamondback, reached on an error by Geraldo Perdomo. Zac induced a possible 4-6-3 double play, but Gerry clanked the flip from Ketel and everyone was safe, loading the bases with 1 out. One of those runners came home on a 2-out walk by Philip Abner (the 2-1 pitch looked to be all over the outside corner but was ruled a ball and the next pitch resulted in the walk).
• After a night of mostly uninspired baseball, James McCann made a very good baseball play to end the 6th inning. With a runner on first, McCann blocked a pitch from Morillo in the dirt and quickly grabbed the ball and got into throwing position because Arraez was dancing a little too far away from first. Realizing he was a dead duck, Arraez tried to play out the string, bouncing in between first and second and trying to bait McCann into throwing one way or the other so he could go the other. McCann didn’t take the bait, instead running right at him, making it all the way to the infield dirt between 1st and 2nd before Arraez finally retreated towards first and McCann was able to throw over and retire him easily.
• Blaze Alexander beat out a possible inning-ending double play in the 8th to preserve the Diamondbacks chances at a rally. He was initially ruled out, but Torey challenged and replay overturned the call with Blaze’s big toe coming down on the bag just before the ball reached first base. Immediately after the Blaze play, ADC came on to pinch hit for McCann and worked a full count walk to load the bases. He laid off a particularly tough pitch in a 2-2 count. I thought there was no way ADC would take a walk in that AB, but I was pleasantly surprised. Then Tawa and Vargas worked 2 walks on 9 pitches to plate 2 runs, with all 8 called balls nowhere near the zone. Unfortunately the inning came to an end when Jorge Barrosa swung at Ball 4 twice against Mason Miller to strike out. To be fair, a 7 pitch at bat is at least 4 pitches longer than I thought it would be for Barrosa v. Miller.
• Ketel Marte’s final AB of the game was a strikeout looking at a Mason Miller slider on the black of the outside part of the plate. Unfortunately, Marte was shorted one strike thanks to the first pitch of the AB being outside but called a strike anyway. Won’t have to worry about that in 2026!

Comment of the Game

It was a steady, well populated Friday night GDT, finishing at 361 comments at time of publishing. Many went Sedona Red, mostly attaboys for a job truly well done to hang around as long as we did. COTG goes to Smurf1000 with a game-leading number of Recs for his eulogy to the 2025 Diamondbacks:

Coming Up

The Diamondbacks face the Friars in Game 161 tomorrow with first pitch at 5:40pm Arizona time. Eduardo Rodriguez is getting the ball for the good guys and he will be opposed by right-hander Michael King who is 5-3 with a 3.57 ERA. Come on through and give Dano some company as he is tasked with recapping the first game of the season that doesn’t really matter. I will be attending the game and am looking forward to what wild lineup Torey will run out there. I suspect Domo, Ketel and Carroll will all sit, so it should be a doozy.