Can the Diamondbacks Play Spoiler Down the Stretch?

The Arizona Diamondbacks are likely not going to make the playoffs in the National League this year. That was evident after their numerous injuries and sell-off at the trade deadline. However, they briefly made things interesting lately, when they got as close as four games back of the New York Mets for the third Wild Card spot.

Currently, they are 6.5 games back of the Mets, sitting behind the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants in the standings. Although they’ve only gone 5-5 in their last 10 games, including a monumental series split against the Milwaukee Brewers (a series in which they arguably should’ve swept or won three out of four), they still have a very dangerous team.

The primary reason they’re likely to miss the playoffs is how difficult their schedule is and how many things would need to go right. They would also need at least three teams to collapse over the final month of the season.

However, they still have the ability to do something meaningful as they wrap up this injury-plagued season and prepare for a rebound in 2026 with a talented core of players. They can play the role of spoiler and knock some teams out of a division race – or the playoffs altogether. That’s what they did to the St. Louis Cardinals earlier this year by sweeping them, and they dealt a similarly devastating blow to the Reds’ chances by taking two of three.

Arizona has the third-hardest schedule left to play, with an average opponents’ winning percentage of .529, easier than only the Cardinals’ and Reds’ remaining schedules. They only have one series left against a team currently below .500, the Minnesota Twins. They also have a series to play against the Giants, who are sitting right at .500.

Otherwise, the D-backs play serious playoff contenders the rest of the way. That doesn’t portend well for them to make up 6.5 games, but it will be an excellent test for their young core of players to handle. It could help them develop more quickly and prepare for 2026, which will hopefully be a healthier year with a fresh chance for success.

The Diamondbacks face the Los Angeles Dodgers for three more games, the San Diego Padres for three games, the Boston Red Sox for three games, the Philadelphia Phillies for three, and the Rangers for two.

If they succeed over those 14 games, even with just a .500 record, they would have a profound effect on the playoff races for those teams.

It is plausible they could win two of their three games to end the season against the Padres, preventing them from winning the NL West and forcing them to play in the Wild Card Series. Or, they could do the same to the Dodgers by sweeping their last series, potentially enabling San Diego to build up a lead against L.A.

After all, the D-backs have done extremely well against NL West opponents and those two teams in particular, despite their mediocre overall record. Facing NL West teams, Arizona is 22-18, with three of those losses coming during a team-wide slump against the Colorado Rockies due to the Ketel Marte media circus.

Against the Dodgers, the Diamondbacks are 5-5, despite blowing a couple of leads against them. Against the Padres, the D-backs are also an even 5-5. They have played them exceptionally well, giving the Padres all they can handle.

All in all, against teams at or over .500, Arizona is 38-43, so there is ground to gain there to play spoiler. Arizona could finish with a record close to or over .500 if they continue to do what they have been doing against teams over .500 lately.

Since August, Arizona has gone 17-13. Those wins came against several teams currently at or over .500 (the Padres, Rangers, Guardians, Reds, Brewers, and Dodgers) and only two teams below .500 (the Athletics and Rockies). That’s a hefty stretch of games that Arizona has done well in, and it has included series against three teams currently in the playoff picture.

The Diamondbacks could potentially force the veteran Phillies to play in the Wild Card Series as well, especially if they sweep their series against them and the Mets can stay hot and gain ground.

Depending on how the Red Sox series goes, as well as how the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees play, Arizona could gift-wrap the Blue Jays the AL East division. That’s if Toronto keeps winning and Arizona sweeps; that would likely give Toronto a five-plus game lead in the division with just three weeks to go.

All of this is to say that while the Arizona Diamondbacks probably won’t make the playoffs, barring a 2023-esque miracle run, they are very much in the conversation to disrupt or ruin some teams’ chances of a strong or lengthy playoff run.

The Diamondbacks could force three or more teams to have to play in the three-game Wild Card Series, where anything can happen, as Arizona showed in 2023. Combine that with potentially giving some other teams extra rest, and it could catapult those teams to a World Series appearance.

Just because Arizona may be under .500 right now, it doesn’t mean they don’t have the ability to create some trademark chaos to end the season and launch themselves into a successful 2026 campaign.