PHOENIX -- It sure looked like it was setting up to be a storybook ending for the Diamondbacks on Monday night.
After meeting with the media pregame to explain what happened when he failed to show up for a game exactly two weeks ago, Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte stood in front of his teammates and apologized for his absence.
Back in the lineup as the DH and hitting fourth, Marte was greeted for each of his at-bats with more boos than cheers.
But as the bottom of the ninth inning started to take shape, it certainly looked like it was setting up for Marte to be the hero.
Trailing by one and facing Phillies closer Jhoan Duran, Ryan Waldschmidt beat out a one-out infield single and one out later, Corbin Carroll did as well. A wild pitch moved Waldschmidt to third with Gabriel Moreno at the plate.
Waiting on deck? Marte.
A single by Moreno to tie the game would have put Marte in position to win it, but Moreno grounded out to short instead to end the game, a 2-1 loss for the D-backs.
"I was definitely thinking about that," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said of the possibility of Marte getting the game-winning hit.
The loss, combined with the Padres’ win over the Reds, dropped Arizona to a half-game behind San Diego in the race for the final NL Wild Card spot.
"It's September," Lovullo said. "It's the best time of the year, and we're in this race. I know the standings flipped a little bit. It's going to be happening. It's going to happen the entire month. I think we're going to go out and play our finest month of baseball."
Marte admitted to some extra nerves for the game after being on the restricted list and then the injured list for the last two weeks.
"I felt a little strange in my first at-bat, but that's hopefully going to go away," Marte said.
Lovullo said Marte's meeting with his teammates before the game was brief and to the point and that Marte did exactly what Lovullo asked of him.
"Thank God they accepted my apology," Marte said. "The most important thing is for me to help them out. The most important thing for me is to stay healthy to be able to help this team out as well. I stood in front of them like a man and I apologized, and thankfully they accepted."
As for the boos, Marte said he was surprised by the reaction, and he also clarified something from his pregame press conference when he shook his head no after being asked if he had a message for the fans.
"Going back to the press conference when the question was made to me, I didn't really quite understand the word that was used at that moment," Marte said. "But I'm never going to stop loving my fans, and that's what I want them to understand.”