This story was excerpted from Steve Gilbert’s D-backs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Tonight begins the final stretch of games for the Diamondbacks, who open a three-game series with the Rockies at Coors Field before traveling to San Diego to finish up the season against the Padres.
Finish the regular season, that is.
Yes, the Diamondbacks can still make the postseason, though, it seems catching the Padres at this point -- they trail San Diego by five games with six to play -- is a real long shot at this point, but the Phillies are a more reachable target.
Yes, they trail the Phillies by four games with six to play, but Philadelphia's final six games include three at home against the Brewers and another three at home against the Rays. Those two teams lead their respective leagues in wins, and the Brewers at least are still playing for something, as they're trying to hold off the Dodgers for home field advantage throughout the postseason.
The Diamondbacks no longer control their own fate, but taking two of three from the Yankees over the weekend gives them a puncher's chance in the final week.
"We know where we are in the standings," manager Torey Lovullo said. "There's not a damn thing we can do about it, other than go out and play our finest game on Tuesday in Colorado, and that'll be our focus."
Scoreboard watching is a real thing this time of year, and Lovullo has preached to his players to keep their focus only on winning that night's game and not on anything else. But he's also looked at the standings and calculated their odds.
"I'm a human being," Lovullo said. "I think everybody's doing that. I'm adding things up and watching what's going on very closely, and we need things to go our way. The teams that are ahead of us are playing good baseball. One in particular [the Padres] have been on a heater, so you know, anything is possible. Anything's possible. We had a three-game lead with seven games to go in 2024, and we went home at the end of the year. So until we have an 'E' next to our name, I'm going to fight. This team's going to fight."