Here are some takeaways from the game, and the series as a whole:
Not what the D-backs wanted
After dropping the first game of the four-game set Thursday night, Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said he went "full throttle" with the way he managed Friday night's 10-6 win, and he was blunt in his explanation of why he did.
"The way that we came out of the Chicago series, and last night we got beat, and to say that we're going to come in here and win four games in a row would be a very tough task," Lovullo said. "We knew that, but splitting [the series] is something that we don't want to do either. We want to win as many games as possible. So winning Game 2, which would equal our first win, would give us a chance to win the series, and we want to win another series."
Winning Game 1 on Saturday gave the Diamondbacks a chance to grab the series win, but they let that slip through their fingers.
The win early Saturday, combined with the Padres’ loss to the Rays, moved the Diamondbacks one-half game ahead of San Diego in the race for the final NL Wild Card spot, but the loss in the nightcap knocked them back into a tie.
Vintage Merrill
The season has been frustrating for Merrill Kelly, who has struggled to find the consistency that he's built his big league career on. But in Saturday's opener, he looked about as good as he has all year.
Kelly allowed just two hits over seven innings, and really helped out the Diamondbacks from a pitching staff standpoint. Had Kelly not been able to eat up some innings, Arizona would have needed to make some additional pitching moves for the second game. The team had flown a pair of Minor League pitchers into town, and had them on standby at the team hotel.
"We needed Merrill to do exactly what he did," Lovullo said. "He gives us seven really strong innings, and he assured me that he was ready to go back out there for that seventh. The pitch count was climbing a little bit, but he had really good stuff. And in a lineup full of left-handed hitters, he had a lot of work, and that secondary stuff was fantastic -- especially the changeup."
Nootbaar settling in
It was a bit of a rough go of it at the plate for Lars Nootbaar after he was acquired by the Diamondbacks from the Cardinals at the Trade Deadline earlier this month.
In his first 53 at-bats for his new team, Nootbaar had a .170 batting average. But over the past two days, he has come through big time for the Diamondbacks.
Nootbaar led off Friday night's game with a homer that jump-started the Arizona offense, and in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, his pinch-hit grand slam in the seventh inning proved to be the difference in the win.
“The guys in front of me did a good job of loading the bases,” Nootbaar said. “Really the only thing going in my mind was to get a pitch where I can get something to the outfield and at least score one, and those guys ahead of me definitely made it easier.
Nootbaar said he recently talked with his former teammate, Ryan Helsley, about his experience being traded at the Deadline.
"You kind of come into a clubhouse, feel like a rookie again," Nootbaar said. "New people, new faces, new routine and everything like that. And so, you just want to get used to the guys.
“The guys in here have been amazing and welcoming and everything like that, but there is just a little settling in period. It's not an excuse for the performance on the field or anything like that, but I just think there is definitely a little bit of getting used to the new environment, and new everything."