Arizona Diamondbacks' late-season collapse continues with loss to Padres

The Arizona Diamondbacks ’ defense failed them on Friday night. Their starting pitcher could not bail them out, nor did their offense do enough. And after a 5-3 loss to the San Diego Padres at Chase Field, the Diamondbacks find themselves no longer in control of their destiny in the National League wild-card race.

The Diamondbacks fell to 88-72, leaving them with one more loss than the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves, the other teams vying for wild-card spots. There are still plenty of ways for the Diamondbacks to reach October; trouble is, they involve more than just the Diamondbacks’ outcomes the next two days.

The loss extends what threatens to be a late-season collapse for the Diamondbacks, who have lost four of their past five games.

The win clinches the top wild-card spot for the San Diego Padres, who will host a wild-card series that begins Tuesday at Petco Park.

Second baseman Ketel Marte could not make a pair of plays, nor could the Diamondbacks track down a high fly ball to right-center field off the bat of Luis Arraez to lead off the game. The plays helped along a four-run first inning.

In the fourth, another fly ball by Arraez to the same part of the park again fell between center fielder Corbin Carroll and right fielder Pavin Smith, driving home another run.

It all conspired against right-hander Merrill Kelly, who gave up five runs in 5 2/3 innings. Kelly was not entirely the victim; he allowed some hard contact and had occasional bouts with wildness, but he might have pitched better than his line would suggest.

Arraez hit the second pitch of the night high and deep to right-center field. Carroll, shaded slightly to left center, could not get to it, nor could Smith. It went for a double.

With one out, the Padres had runners on the corners and one out when Manny Machado hit a sharp one-hopper to Marte’s left. The ball ate him up and deflected into right field. Instead of an inning-ending double play, the Padres had a run home – and were set up for more.

Two batters later, Xander Bogaerts hit the Padres’ second possible double play ball of the inning. This time, Marte, after taking the feed from shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, was slow on the exchange, then threw wild to first. That allowed the third run of the inning to score.

The Diamondbacks responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first -- one coming on a Carroll solo homer -- but Arraez’s second deep drive to right-center, in the fourth, drove home the Padres’ fifth run, pushing their lead to 5-2.

The Diamondbacks either had the tying run on base or at the plate in each of the final five innings but could not deliver a clutch hit. In the ninth, Carroll walked, but Marte struck out looking and pinch-hitter Alek Thomas bounced to second against Padres closer Robert Suarez.

—Nick Piecoro

Padres build on lead as Braves win, Mets lose

Through 5 1/2 innings, the Arizona Diamondbacks trail the Padres 5-2 at Chase Field.

DBacks starter Merrill Kelly settled down after a rocky start. He allowed one run since giving up four in the first inning.

That Padres' fifth run came in the fourth inning when Kelly issued a two-out walk to Kyle Higashioka, then allowed a triple to right-center field from Luis Arraez, his second hit of the night.

The Diamondbacks, at this point, could drop into a three-way tie for the two remaining National League wild-card spots with a loss. The Atlanta Braves won Friday and the New York Mets lost, so both teams would be one game back of Arizona in the loss column if the Diamondbacks don't rally.

Kelly came out for his sixth inning of work and recorded two outs before Joe Mantiply came on in relief and finished the inning. Kelly allowed eight hits with a walk and eight strikeouts in his 5 2/3 innings Friday night.

-Jose M. Romero

Padres take early lead with big first inning

The Diamondbacks’ quest to secure a wild-card spot did not get off to a good start Friday night at Chase Field, though the first inning wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

They trail the San Diego Padres, 4-2, after one inning at Chase Field.

The Padres scored four times off right-hander Merrill Kelly, getting a handful of hard-hit balls and taking advantage of a couple of mistakes by second baseman Ketel Marte.

The Diamondbacks answered in the bottom half by scoring two runs off Padres right-hander Yu Darvish, starting with a leadoff homer by Corbin Carroll.

The Padres had runners on first and third and one out when Manny Machado hit a potential double-play ball just to the left of Marte, who tried to field it to the side but had the ball shoot past him and into right-center field. A run scored on the play and Jackson Merrill made it 2-0 with an RBI single to center.

Then came another Marte mistake. Xander Bogaerts hit another potential double-play ball, this one to shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, but Marte had a slow exchange, then threw wild to first base, allowing a third run to score. David Peralta shot a single to right to drive home the Padres’ fourth run of the inning.

After Carroll’s homer, the Diamondbacks put the next two batters aboard on a walk and a hit-by pitch. Two batters later, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a high fly ball to deep left field – for a split second it looked like it might be gone – but it stayed in the park and went as a sacrifice fly.

—Nick Piecoro

Alek Thomas back with team, says he's learned from injury-marred '24

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Alek Thomas was back into his big-league pregame routine Friday: some defensive drills then taking his rotation in the batting cage prior to his team’s critical series against the San Diego Padres.

Though just three games remained in the regular season, Thomas was back with the Diamondbacks for the first time since mid-August, when he was sent down to Triple-A Reno because of his hitting struggles. On Aug. 14 when Thomas was optioned to Reno, he was batting .191 with three home runs and 17 runs batted in after spending almost three months on the injured list with a strained left hamstring.

Thomas ended up spending almost a month and a half in the minors, in part because after only about a week there, he suffered an oblique strain that forced him to the injured list once again.

Thomas was called back up to the Diamondbacks on Thursday. He said it means a lot to him to be back in the majors, and that he will give it all he has regardless of how he feels.

“Just a roller coaster with a lot of downhill movement,” he described his season Friday from the DBacks’ dugout. “It’s definitely been tough physically and mentally. I definitely learned a lot of things. At the end of the day, it’s just going to help me become a better man and help me grow as an individual, not just a baseball player.”

Thomas was proud of himself for not giving up on the season, even though thoughts of doing so crossed his mind as he dealt with the pain from his injuries. A standout performer in the postseason last year for the Diamondbacks, Thomas hopes to contribute to the Diamondbacks on defense or running the bases, or any other way his speed and postseason experience can help.

“Right now probably a defensive replacement later in games, pinch runner, maybe a pinch-hit at-bat,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “In a close game, he’ll probably be playing center field for us. That’s what I explained to him.”

-Jose M. Romero

Diamondbacks pitching plans to be determined

The Arizona Diamondbacks’ pitching plans, as of late Friday afternoon, remained to be determined for the final two days of the season. Manager Torey Lovullo offered what he called “starting points,” but he presented them with the caveat that the circumstances might force him to reconsider.

For now, he said, left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez and right-hander Brandon Pfaadt line up to take the ball in the season’s final two games.

“We haven’t made that firm,” Lovullo said. “If you wanted to write something, you could say that’s the best starting point. Where it goes from today on is very fluid.”

If things break positively for the Diamondbacks and they can start to prepare for the postseason, they might go in a different direction.

If the Diamondbacks find themselves in more desperate scenarios, Lovullo did not rule out the idea of using right-hander Zac Gallen in some capacity.

“I know Zac and if he could help this team win on Sunday and if it’s an all-in day, he’s going to come to me and say, ‘I want to pitch in this game,’” Lovullo said. “I probably will not get in his way. We’ll find out what role he could be in. I don’t know what it would be, but if we get to that point we’ll figure it out then.”

Lovullo also did not have a firm answer on how he planned to use right-hander Ryne Nelson, who was activated from the injured list ahead of Friday’s game after missing the past few weeks with right shoulder inflammation.

When asked if he thought Nelson would be used in shorter bursts or if the club would continue to stretch him out, Lovullo first answered with uncertainty. But the more he talked the more it sounded like he hoped to use him multiple times this weekend.

“I’m going to see how he’s used tonight, if he’s used tonight, and then have him wake up tomorrow and tell me how he feels,” Lovullo said. “He’s an injured athlete and we have to be mindful of his return. I think my starting point — and this is just my starting point, I have the right to change my mind — is we could use him two innings tonight and maybe an inning on Sunday. That would be my initial starting point.”

As for the Padres, they, too, remain undecided for the next two days. They already have locked up a playoff spot but could clinch home-field advantage in the wild-card round with a win this weekend. Once they win a game, they would ostensibly be less motivated to go with any of their frontline pitchers.

Meanwhile, reliever Paul Sewald, who has twice thrown off the mound in the past week, will face hitters in a simulated game on Saturday. Lovullo said Sewald is trying to return and make himself an option for the postseason roster. Sewald is on the injured list with a disk issue in his neck.

—Nick Piecoro

Saturday’s Diamondbacks-Padres pitching matchup

Padres at Diamondbacks, 5:10 p.m., Cox, Ch. 34

Diamondbacks TBA vs. Padres TBA

At Chase Field: Neither team had named a starter as of Friday afternoon. The Padres haven’t for obvious reasons: If they were to win on Friday night, they would clinch home-field advantage in the wild-card round and would not want to use one of their normal starters, thus making that pitcher unavailable for the first playoff game or two. … It is unclear if the Padres would make a roster move to bring up a starting pitcher if this game is not as meaningful to them. … As for the Diamondbacks, this would be the normal start day for LHP Eduardo Rodriguez, though he is not coming off a strong performance. Earlier this week against the Giants, he gave up five runs in 4 2/3 innings in a 6-3 loss. … Rodriguez has pitched to a 5.56 ERA through nine starts. He missed the first four months of the season due to a shoulder injury. … Both teams are listed as TBA for Sunday, as well, with RHP Brandon Pfaadt looking like the most likely starter for the Diamondbacks.

Coming up

Sunday: At Chase Field, 12:10 p.m., Diamondbacks TBA. vs. Padres TBA.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Diamondbacks' late-season collapse continues with loss to Padres