Diamondbacks' bullpen melts down vs. Padres in costly loss amid MLB playoff race against Braves, Mets

Arizona allowed five runs on Saturday, all of them in the ninth and all on home runs

The Arizona Diamondbacks suffered a potentially devastating blow to their playoff chances on Saturday night, dropping a 5-0 contest to the Padres (box score) that saw San Diego score all of its runs in the top of the ninth and on home runs.

The Diamondbacks, who did not record their first hit off Padres right-hander Randy Vásquez until the bottom of the sixth inning on a Corbin Carroll double, nevertheless entered the ninth inning locked in a 0-0 tie. Manager Torey Lovullo turned to lefty reliever A.J. Puk, possessor of a 0.33 ERA in 29 appearances with the club. Unfortunately, Puk's ERA will not remain so low after Saturday night.

That's because Puk promptly surrendered home runs to Kyle Higashioka (a two-run shot) and Brandon Lockridge (a solo job) to give San Diego a 3-0 lead. Scott McGough would then check in to replace Puk … only to give up a single to Jurickson Profar and another two-run home run to Jurickson Profar to put Arizona down by a 5-0 margin. The Diamondbacks were unable to muster much of a rally in their half of the ninth.

The Diamondbacks entered Saturday locked in a three-way tie with the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets for the National League's second and third wild-card spots. The Braves defeated the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night, while the Mets lost to the Milwaukee Brewers. As a result, the Braves now have sole possession of the second-wild card spot, complete with a one-game lead over both the Mets and Diamondbacks heading into the regular season's final day.

Of course, this situation is a little more complicated than that suggests. For one, the Diamondbacks will wrap up their regular season on Sunday; the Braves and Mets, on the other hand, will play a doubleheader against one another on Monday that was postponed because of Hurricane Helene. Additionally, the Diamondbacks lost their season series to both the Braves and Mets, meaning they're out in the event of a tie.

In turn, Sunday's season finale against the Padres is close to a must-win for the Diamondbacks. If Arizona loses and the Mets win, Arizona would be eliminated from postseason contention because of the aforementioned tiebreaker. If the Braves win or the Diamondbacks lose, the Braves will clinch a spot regardless of what happens in the Mets game on Sunday, or as part of Monday's doubleheader. 

Conversely, a Diamondbacks win on Sunday and losses from Atlanta and New York would have Arizona spraying champagne, with the Mets and Braves duking it out twice on Monday to determine who advances to the postseason. (The Braves hold a 6-5 advantage in the season series against the Mets, meaning that the first game would clinch it for the Braves should it come to that.)