PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks, watching their season flash before their eyes, made sure they stayed alive Monday night with one swing of the bat by their biggest star.
Corbin Carroll’s two-run homer with one out in the ninth inning rescued the D-backs from a potential lethal defeat, winning 8-7 over the Miami Marlins at Chase Field.
The victory keeps the Diamondbacks within 2 ½ games of the sizzling San Diego Padres for the National League's third and final wild-card spot with 11 games remaining in their bid to reach the postseason for the first time since their 2023 World Series run.
“I don’t even know where to start,’’ D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said, “other than I think really good players do really good things. They have an understanding
of the situation and executing at a very high level at the most critical moments.’’
If the Diamondbacks were not in contention for a postseason berth, Carroll might not even be playing, dealing with a strained back that has limited him at the plate, hitting just .184 in September. He missed two games last week, underwent an MRI, and was dropped to fifth in the batting order.
This night, stepping up to the plate to face rookie right-hander Jack Ralston after an injury forced veteran closer Pete Fairbanks out of the game, he launched a 2-1 splitter 423 feet into the right-field seats, with the ball traveling 108.4 mph off his bat.
Just like that, the D-backs had their ninth walk-off win.
“Obviously, this is right down to crunch time ...’’ Carroll said. “These are the games that we dream about playing at the beginning of the season. Meaningful games in September.’’
CORBIN CARROLL WALK-OFF 2-RUN HOMER! pic.twitter.com/VnTASMNpXA
— MLB (@MLB) September 15, 2026
The Diamondbacks, who overcame deficits of 3-0, 5-3 and 7-4, realize they can’t afford a slump this time of year. They are three games back in the loss column to San Diego, and after the Marlins leave town, the powerful New York Yankees arrive for a three-game series.
“It really doesn’t matter what they [the Padres] do,’’ D-backs starter Corbin Burnes said. “If we win every game, we’re in, no matter how many we get out, as long as we get within three.’’
Yes, indeed, the D-backs finish the season against the team they’re chasing, with a three-game series against the Padres at Petco Park. If they’re within three games, and sweep, they’re going to the playoffs, likely with a first-round matchup against Atlanta. But, of course, they’d feel a whole lot more comfortable if they didn’t have to rely on a sweep to get into the dance.
They have to just keep on winning and hope that at some point the Padres start to lose. The Padres have reeled off a season-long eight-game winning streak. It has been eight years since the Diamondbacks even had an seven-game winning streak.
Still, just the fact that the D-backs are in the race is what compelled Burnes — who won the Cy Young Award in 2021 and had five consecutive top-10 Cy Young finishes — to return and hopefully make an impact.
Burnes, making his second start since his return, and his first at home since June 1, 2025, still looked rusty at times and had trouble locating his cutter. He gave up five runs — including two homers — in 4 2/3 innings, but it was an improvement over his season debut last week in Kansas City.
“I mean, everything’s under a microscope, right?’’ Burnes said. “Usually, you get five, six [outings] in spring training to work through some stuff and build that intensity for opening day. But when you got to come back in the middle of it in September, everything’s got to be sharp and crisp.’’
Burnes, scheduled to make two more regular-season starts, including against the Yankees this weekend, showed signs of being one of the game’s elite pitchers. He struck out four batters, and generated 14 swings and misses in his 75 pitches. The Marlins couldn’t touch his changeup, but he had trouble commanding his cutter, with the Marlins swinging and missing just twice.
“He’s just not the same right now,’’ one veteran scout in attendance. “His arm strength isn’t there yet.’’
Still, the fact that Burnes is back, and doing everything in his power to make a difference in the stretch drive, reverberates throughout the clubhouse.
“To be in the middle of a pennant race and you have Corbin Burnes to pencil into the lineup,’’ Lovullo said, “that’s a manager’s dream.”
Meanwhile, the D-backs, made their latest move to find some offensive help by spending $420,000 to claim left-handed DH Jesus Sanchez off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays. Sanchez, who’s scheduled to join the D-backs on Tuesday, will not be eligible if the D-backs make the postseason, but he could be a valuable weapon for the D-backs, who are scheduled to face all right-handed starters the rest of the season.
Sanchez, 28, hit .260 with eight homers in 269 at-bats until the Blue Jays designated him for assignment last Friday. He slashed .276/.333/.448 with a .755 OPS against right-handed pitching this year compared to just .355 against left-handed pitching.
The Diamondbacks are just 53-58 against right-handed starting pitchers this year, and 27-13 against left-handers. They have the third-lowest OPS (.684) against right-handed starters this year, and second-lowest against all right-handed pitchers.
“We’re trying to find lighting in a bottle,’’ Lovullo said. “We're trying to get some impact left-handed bats into this lineup to help us score some runs. …
“[Sanchez] can impact the baseball, we've all watched him from afar, we've seen him do some really good things. Being able to handle quality right-handed pitching was a big piece of this puzzle.’’
Follow Bob Nightengale on X @Bnightengale.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diamondbacks keep playoff hopes alive with another ninth-inning comeback win
