The Arizona Diamondbacks have clinched a Wild Card spot after the Cincinnati Reds fell to the St. Louis Cardinals today.
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YOUR #DBACKS ARE BACK IN THE POSTSEASON!!! pic.twitter.com/V3qHANtj5H
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) October 1, 2023
Arizona entered tonight needing a win or Reds’ loss to clinch.
The D-backs will now be in the postseason for the first time since 2017. In 2017, they won their Wild Card game against the Rockies. However, they were swept in the divisional series by the Dodgers.
It will be the franchise’s seventh ever time in the playoffs.
Arizona is currently in the middle of its game against the Astros. The D-backs are trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the eighth.
What Wild Card Seed The D-backs Will Get
If the Diamondbacks (84-76) win tonight, they would be the No. 5 seed in the NL for now. They would square off against the Phillies (89-72) in a best-of-three No. 5 vs. No. 4 matchup. The Marlins (84-76), who won tonight, surpass Arizona for this seed if the D-backs lose. If this result happens, the D-backs would be the No. 6 team and play a best-of-three series against the No. 3-seeded Brewers (91-70). Milwaukee and Philadelphia will be the No. 3 and 4 seeds respectively no matter what.
The Marlins own the tiebreaker over Arizona. Miami has played one less game than everyone else so far. The Marlins will play the Mets if necessary in a makeup game on Monday.
With this being said, if the D-backs win tonight and tomorrow, Arizona will be the No. 5 seed ahead of the Marlins. If the D-backs lose tonight and tomorrow, the Marlins will get this seed. If the D-backs lose either today or tomorrow, and the Marlins win tomorrow, Miami will get the No. 5 seed. In this same scenario but with Miami losing tomorrow, the Marlins would play this makeup game against the Mets and whether they win or lose would determine who would get the No. 5 seed.
No matter what matchup the D-backs end up in, the first game will be on Tuesday (Oct. 3). Ace pitcher Zac Gallen threw 6.1 innings in yesterday’s 2-1 loss against the Astros. The minimum time the D-backs have been spreading out Gallen is five days. This means Wednesday is when he’d be fully rested or they could start him Tuesday on one less day of rest.
Their No. 2 pitcher, Merrill Kelly, pitched seven innings today. He would be fully rested by Thursday.
Clinching the playoffs is a huge achievement for the Diamondbacks and coach Torey Lovullo, who led Arizona to its 2017 playoff appearance in his first season with the team.
With how many young players the D-backs have, this will be a new experience for several members of the team. We will see how they fare in the Wild Card game, as October has proven time and time again to be the most exciting and unpredictable month in baseball.
Two ways the Diamondbacks can clinch a Wild Card spot on September 30th
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
