While 12 teams across the league fight for a World Series title, Valley fans can’t help but think the Arizona Diamondbacks should be there with them.
Especially after an 89-73 season — in which they improved by five games from 2023 — a season filled with expectations following a World Series appearance and multiple offseason additions.
Diamondbacks owner and general managing partner Ken Kendrick emphasized his disappointment in MLB for the Mets-Braves doubleheader, a situation entirely out of the Diamondbacks’ control that eliminated them from postseason contention.
However, the Diamondbacks had full control of their seven-game lead in the Wild Card race, but they ultimately let it slip away.
On Tuesday, Dave Burns and John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo selected seven games from the season — primarily in September — that best contributed to the Diamondbacks’ end-of-season collapse.
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Burns & Gambo make their selections
Gambo: July 2, D-backs at Dodgers (L, 6-5)
For Gambadoro, this is where it all started.
At the start of July, the Diamondbacks were 41-43 and closer Paul Sewald had a 0.54 ERA through 18 appearances.
The Diamondbacks took a 5-4 lead in the ninth inning after a Joc Pederson homer. Sewald then took the mound in the bottom half of the inning, he struck out Gavin Lux and Shohei Ohtani to get two outs, then allowed back-to-back doubles from Will Smith and Freddie Freeman followed by a Teoscar Hernandez RBI-single to end it.
This was the start of Sewald’s nightmare July (10 innings, 12 earned runs and 18 hits with four blown saves) that ultimately cost him the closer role.
“I think a lot of the damage for this season started with that blown save with two outs in the ninth against the Dodgers,” Gambadoro said.
What are the five games that defined the @Dbacks season?
Watch the full conversation here: https://t.co/tXRHTJWqD4 pic.twitter.com/0H73zpUlQb
— The Burns & Gambo Show (@BurnsAndGambo) October 2, 2024
Burns: Any one of Sewald’s blown saves (probably the 10-8 loss to the Padres on July 5).
Burns’ first pick was similar to Gambo’s: A Paul Sewald blown save.
Burns said any one of Sewald’s blown saves in July — July 2, July 5 against San Diego, July 8 against Braves or July 28 against the Pirates — is one of his picks.
He narrowed it down to July 5, when Alek Thomas hit a grand slam to kick-start a six-run ninth inning to take the lead before Sewald allowed homers to Jurickson Profar and Manny Machado to lose 10-8.
Gambo: Aug. 30 – Dodgers at D-backs (L, 10-9)
This was a game that the Diamondbacks could’ve capitalized on in the midst of the NL West race.
Up to this point, Arizona was 27-10 and four games back from the Dodgers coming out of the All-Star break.
After tying the game at five apiece, the Dodgers jumped out to a 10-5 lead. It was a deficit the Diamondbacks almost came back from, putting up four runs in the ninth inning before falling short and losing 10-9.
Burns: Sept. 5 – D-backs at Giants (L, 3-2)
After the Diamondbacks won the first two games of the series, they had the Giants on the ropes in Game 3, forcing manager Bob Melvin to remove LHP Blake Snell after 42 pitches in the first inning.
The Diamondbacks scored two in the first but were shutout by the Giants bullpen from then on and eventually surrendered a Patrick Bailey walk-off double to lose the game 3-2.
Burns & Gambo: Sept. 16 – D-backs at Rockies (L, 3-2)
During the first of three against the Colorado Rockies, the Diamondbacks jumped out to a 2-0 lead amid a Ketel Marte two-run blast off RHP Antonio Senzatela.
Little by little, the Rockies climbed back to tie the game at two. The kicker, though, was shortstop Geraldo Perdomo’s error that won the Rockies the game in the ninth inning.
Arizona ultimately lost the series.
Burns also picked the Perdomo error that kick-started a series loss to the Rockies.
“The top offense in baseball can’t go to Colorado and score two runs, you just can’t,” Burns said.
Gambo: Sept. 22 – D-backs at Brewers (L, 10-9)
This is the game that seemingly sucked all hope out of the Valley when it came to Diamondbacks postseason chances.
Arizona blew an 8-0 lead, the largest in the team’s history. After this game, the Diamondbacks lost four of their last six games and let their fate come down to a post-regular season doubleheader that was out of their control.
“The Milwaukee game. You just have to go there,” Gambadoro said. “You had the lead, 8-0, you lose the game … you tried everybody in that bullpen and nobody could get anybody out.”
Gambo: Sept. 28 – Padres at D-backs (L, 5-0)
Losing four of their last five games and suddenly neck-and-neck with the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves for the second and third Wild Card spots, the Diamondbacks entered the second-to-last game of the regular season facing San Diego RHP Randy Vazquez, who had a 5.18 ERA and 1.59 WHIP.
The Snakes mustered just two hits off of him and lost 5-0.
“You lose 5-0 to the Padres with Randy Vazquez on the mound. That has to be one of the top five losses,” Gambadoro said. “You’re going up against a Triple-A pitcher … you get what, two hits off of him? This offense wasn’t able to score against a guy who was just called up from Triple-A?
“That was a brutal, brutal loss. I think that one matters.”
“That was the game the D-backs lost the season…” Burns added.