Diamondbacks fell to Mets, Braves split in doubleheader

PHOENIX – The 2024 season is over for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who will not go to the postseason after losing five of their last seven games.

The New York Mets and Atlanta Braves split their doubleheader on Monday, ousting the Diamondbacks as they needed momentum one way or another to advance.

All three teams finished 89-73, but the D-Backs lost in the tiebreaker and will enter the offseason earlier than planned after their World Series run a year ago.

The Mets travel to Milwaukee to take on the NL Central-winning Brewers, while the Braves face the top wild card San Diego Padres.

The Diamondbacks had a chance to secure a spot in the postseason for most of the second half.

As of August 25, the D-Backs were atop the Wild Card, seven games ahead of New York on the outside.

The Mets then won a three-game series at Chase Field and secured the tiebreaker. Since then, New York has been one of the hottest teams in baseball heading into the postseason.

Since August 25th, the D-Backs have gone mediocre at 14:17. The Mets stormed to a record of 21-10, the Braves went 19-13 and the Padres went 19-11.

The Diamondbacks improved their win total by five games compared to 2023, but a struggle in the final seven games proved costly, particularly the 8-0 lead in Milwaukee.

This has been a difficult season for the Diamondbacks in many ways, particularly due to injuries to a significant portion of their corps. Ketel Marte, Christian Walker, Geraldo Perdomo, Gabriel Moreno, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Ryne Nelson, Eduardo Rodriguez, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Alek Thomas all missed time on the injured list.

The pitching staff fell a step below preseason expectations with a team ERA of 4.63 (No. 27 in the MLB), and the offense endured inconsistent first-half quiet starts from Eugenio Suarez and Corbin Carroll.

These two turned their season around and coupled with a superstar performance from Marte and contributions from a strong lineup, the Diamondbacks scored more runs than any other team in baseball with 886.

They also made the fewest errors and became the first club since 1900 to make 65 or fewer errors in two consecutive seasons. And the late-game comebacks that defined the 2023 Answerbacks returned in the second half as this squad showed its resilience. These elements, coupled with a shortened rotation, could have proved a difficult test for opponents in October.

Those key attributes were somewhat forgotten last week due to increased pressure, particularly Friday's defense and Saturday's offense, both losses to the Padres. The Diamondbacks lost their last four games and made the postseason in 2023, but the NL was just too good for a bad result this time.

The Diamondbacks enter the offseason with key free agents Christian Walker, Paul Sewald, Kevin Newman and Josh Bell, team options for Suarez and Kelly, and mutual options for Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk. Montgomery has a player option.

The postseason begins on Tuesday.

Follow @alexjweiner