Diamondbacks in sole possession of 2nd NL Wild Card after comeback win over Guardians

The Arizona Diamondbacks surged for four runs in the eighth inning to win the series opener against the Cleveland Guardians 4-1 on Friday, and in doing so, they moved into solo possession of the second National League Wild Card spot 110 games into the season.

The Philadelphia Phillies lost to the Baltimore Orioles to drop to the third NL Wild Card spot entering the weekend.

With the Diamondbacks in another save situation, they called on Brandyn Garcia for the second straight game after moving Paul Sewald out of the closer role. Garcia threw a 1-2-3 inning for his third career save, and he needed only seven pitches.

Diamondbacks stars come through late

The Guardians took a 1-0 lead off D-backs starter Mitch Bratt in the first inning, and that remained the score into the eighth.

Bratt walked four batters but battled to escape jams and hold Cleveland to one run in five innings. Exceptional defense from Nolan Arenado at third base provided him a safety blanket.

Meanwhile, Guardians starter Tanner Bibee cruised through seven innings with two hits allowed and no walks, and Cleveland kept him out there for the eighth to face the bottom of the order. A Tim Tawa walk and Ryan Waldschmidt single later, and the Diamondbacks were finally in business. Cleveland called in its bullpen, and the D-backs continued the rally against what has been a top-10 unit in baseball this year:

• Corbin Carroll walk
• Geraldo Perdomo game-tying RBI single (opposite field)
• Gabriel Moreno go-ahead RBI single (opposite field)
• Ketel Marte RBI single

WHO ELSE BUT GABRIEL MORENO?!?! pic.twitter.com/8129xv1aeK

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 1, 2026

It was a positive sign to see the top of the order, which has struggled aside from Moreno in July, band together and come through in the clutch with sound approaches.

The Diamondbacks recently shuffled their batting order to get Marte opportunities in the clean-up spot to drive in runs, which had gotten off to a slow start, but he took advantage of that chance on Friday.

Arizona brought eight hitters up to bat in the inning against three Guardians pitchers.

The Diamondbacks (58-52) have won three straight games and are 13-5 over their last 18.

Tough pitching matchups for Diamondbacks this weekend

After struggling for most of the night against Bibee, the Diamondbacks will face two of the tougher pitchers in the American League this weekend:

Saturday: LHP Kohl Drake (0-0, 5.00) vs. LHP Parker Messick (8-6, 2.59)

Sunday: RHP Merrill Kelly (8-8, 4.86) vs. RHP Gavin Williams (10–6, 3.71)

First pitch on Saturday is at 4:15 p.m. MST, and the game will air on FOX.

The radio call can be heard on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.

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