A week ago, it sure felt as if the Diamondbacks' postseason hopes were slipping away from them.
But ever since a series-opening loss to the Yankees last Friday, Arizona suddenly cannot lose. The D-backs have rattled off six straight wins -- including a sweep of the Rockies earlier this week and a series-opening win against the Padres on Friday -- to stay afloat, improbably, in the National League Wild Card race.
The Snakes, as they say, are alive.
The D-backs (86-74) took the first game of the series against the Padres and now sit just one game behind the Phillies (87-73) for the final NL Wild Card spot. Crucially, Arizona would also win a tiebreaker between the teams. (The two teams split their six head-to-head meetings this year, but the D-backs have a superior intra-divisional record, which is the second tiebreaker).
Here's what it would take for the D-backs to make the playoffs.
How can the D-backs win the last Wild Card spot?
- If they go 2-0 and the Phillies go 1-1 or 0-2
- If they go 1-1 and the Phillies go 0-2
The first thing to emphasize is that Arizona does not control its own destiny. If Philadelphia wins the next two games, then the Phillies will secure a postseason berth for a fifth consecutive season.
But if the Phillies continue to stumble -- they have lost three in a row and are 5-6 in their last 11 games -- then the door is ajar. At minimum, Arizona has to win one of the final games against the Padres.
To complicate matters even more, a Nor'easter is descending on the East Coast this weekend. While Boston is expected to bear the brunt of the storm, the outer edges are forecasted to bring heavy rain to Philadelphia on Saturday and Sunday. That could make it difficult for the Phillies to play their games as scheduled on Saturday night (7:15 p.m ET) and Sunday afternoon (3:05 p.m. ET). But if the D-backs continue to win, these games will most certainly matter -- and thus must be played.
There's plenty more at stake in the NL Wild Card race, too. San Diego and Chicago have each punched their ticket to the playoffs, but neither has secured its seed. In fact, it's possible that all three Wild Card teams -- in this scenario, the Padres, Cubs and Phillies -- wind up in a three-way tie.