The Arizona Diamondbacks have been losing ground in the NL Wild Card race amid the San Diego Padres' recent winning streak, which they extended to eight games with an 8-7 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Monday. That made the Diamondbacks' Monday night clash against the Miami Marlins all the more crucial. However, it looked like Arizona was going to suffer a heartbreaking defeat, as they entered the bottom of the ninth inning down by one run, 7-6.
Nonetheless, the Diamondbacks recognized the importance of the situation, and it helped that the heart of the order was due up in the ninth. Gabriel Moreno then drew a leadoff walk, and Geraldo Perdomo moved him over to second with a sac bunt. At that point, the Diamondbacks would have loved it had they managed to tie the game and send it to extras.
Corbin Carroll was having none of that extra innings talk, however. He came to the plate and worked his way to a 2-1 count against Marlins reliever Jack Ralston, and he punished the fourth pitch of the at-bat, and 82-mph splitter that was thigh high, and deposited it into the right-field bleachers near the foul pole to give the Diamondbacks an 8-7 victory.
Article Continues BelowCORBIN CARROLL WALK-OFF 2-RUN HOMER FOR THE DIAMONDBACKS ðÂÂÂ¥pic.twitter.com/4vpDJXM9MG
â ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 15, 2026
Carroll's heroics gave the Diamondbacks their 80th win in 151 games (80-71), and this at least keeps them within striking distance of the Padres for the third and final Wild Card spot. They remain within 2.5 games of the Padres, and with 11 games remaining in their season, surpassing San Diego in the standings remains very much doable.
This is becoming eerily reminiscent of 2024, when the Diamondbacks were trying to sneak into the postseason. Fans, however, would not want a repeat of what happened that year. The Diamondbacks finished with an 89-73 record, but they were locked into a three-way tie with the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves. They lost out on the tiebreaker in the end and missed the postseason.