How the Diamondbacks managed their ‘best win of the year’

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks’ comeback victory against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday moved into the top slot of the team’s (very unofficial) best wins of 2026 list for various reasons.

Not only did the Diamondbacks match a franchise record for largest comeback after trailing 7-0, but they climbed to within a half-game of a postseason spot with their 100th game coming up on Monday.

The D-backs additionally captured the season series against St. Louis, one of the teams they are chasing for the third National League Wild Card spot.

And in a season that has felt like a seesaw, the Diamondbacks kept their seat from falling back down. They have won six of their last seven games and did not follow a four-game winning streak entering the All-Star break with a dud series loss to the Cardinals.

So much went wrong on Sunday, from Eduardo Rodriguez giving the worst performance of his All-Star season to the deflating feeling of another home blowout. Even Corbin Carroll left the game late with a hyperextended elbow after the D-backs climbed back to tie the score. He is day-to-day.

In the end, Max Kepler played the role of walk-off hero with a double to right field in the 10th inning, which snapped Arizona’s four-game losing streak in extra innings.

Nolan Arenado called it the best win of the season. Kepler said it was “beautiful.”

“It was 7-0, that’s usually a blowout, but it didn’t seem like anyone was playing that way,” Kepler said. “That shows fight and grit.

“We were just locked in. … Maybe we were not as focused to start, but they lost focus towards the end, and we capitalized on it.”

Max Kepler wins it for the @Dbacks!

It's tied for the largest comeback victory in franchise history after erasing a 7-run deficit 😲 pic.twitter.com/7T4IAbW1OI

— MLB (@MLB) July 19, 2026

So, how did the Diamondbacks do this?

It is sometimes hard to pinpoint the genesis of a massive comeback. Drey Jameson stranded the bases loaded in the third inning to prevent the game from entering June 20 territory, when the D-backs fell behind 16-0 against Minnesota.

Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo said bench coach Jeff Banister and first base coach Dave McKay motivated the team in the dugout in the fifth or sixth inning despite St. Louis’ 7-0 lead. After the game, Perdomo dumped the Gatorade cooler on Banister.

“They were a little bit upset because we didn’t have the energy,” Perdomo said. “They always believe in us and what we can do. And we always say the Diamondbacks are never out of a game.”

“There’s a level here that (McKay) doesn’t allow you to falter from,” Arenado said. “He’s gonna keep pushing you, regardless. And it’s always good to get those checks because sometimes, games like today, it’s easy to kind of lay down. And we didn’t do that, and that was a great win.”

The comeback itself happened in three phases:

Phase 1: Breaking the seal

Cardinals starter Andre Pallante was dealing, tossing five shutout innings to start the game. Adrian Del Castillo led off the sixth inning with a double, and Ryan Waldschmidt followed with a single to give the D-backs some momentum in a previously offense-malaised game.

Arizona ended up chasing Pallante and rallying for three runs in the inning. The at-bats were disciplined, and two runs scored on bases-loaded walks. The Diamondbacks brought the tying run to the plate, as Arenado stood in with the bases loaded in a 7-3 game, but he grounded out sharply on a nice play by third baseman Blaze Jordan.

Phase 2: The inside-the-park home run

Inside-the-park home runs come in different forms, from lucky bounces in ballparks with unique dimensions to horrible bungles by defenders. The commonality is that when these plays happen at home, they always energize the ballpark, and that’s exactly what went down on Sunday.

Geraldo Perdomo’s inside-the-parker shocked the Diamondbacks right back into the game and shot belief back in Chase Field, as the crowd buzz changed from that moment.

Perdomo hit a line drive the other way, which was woefully misplayed by left fielder Jose Fermin. The ball got behind the defender and rolled all the way to the wall, scoring Del Castillo and allowing Perdomo to rumble all the way home on a dive. Perdomo said he did not expect to be waved in, but he completed his first career inside-the-park home run, eventually.

Geraldo Perdomo puts the @Dbacks within 2!

They trailed 7-0 in the 5th inning 👀 pic.twitter.com/f4VbxyvkxF

— MLB (@MLB) July 19, 2026

The play was initially ruled a single with an error, but Fermin never touched the ball before it skipped past him, so the scoring changed.

Phase 3: Nolan Arenado’s redemption

After failing to come through earlier, Arenado did not miss his chance to crush a hanging breaking ball from Cardinals reliever Gordon Graceffo.

Tyler Locklear’s two-out single extended the inning, and Arenado got out in front of a slider but stayed back enough to barrel it up. He punched his fist in the air while rounding the bases.

From there, it was anyone’s ballgame.

Nolan Arenado ties the game with a 2-run shot!

The @Dbacks come all the way back 🐍 pic.twitter.com/bv4ghLlCSL

— MLB (@MLB) July 19, 2026

Arizona’s pitching and defense were critical to the win. Rodriguez only made it through 2.2 innings, and the bullpen held the Cardinals to two runs in the remaining 7.1 frames, including no runs after the fifth. Jameson and Philip Abner played the role of cleanup duty, making 88 pitches across four innings with two earned runs.

With a potential win back on the table, the D-backs leaned on Taylor Clarke, Ryan Thompson and Juan Morillo to take it home.

A baserunning mistake from Bryan Torres in the 10th inning provided the D-backs a lifeline, as he was doubled off first base on a broken-bat liner to Perdomo at shortstop.

With the ghost runner on second base and one out, Kepler was looking to hit the ball to the right side, and he clobbered it to the wall.

The top four starters in Arizona’s lineup went 3-for-17, but the D-backs have been better about producing runs from throughout the batting order. Kepler, Del Castillo and Locklear each reached base multiple times.

“I think we knew there was a lot of game left,” Arenado said. “We didn’t get too low about it. We realized that we just gotta have quality at-bats. Pallante was throwing the ball well today, but we were able to rally there for a bit. And then our bullpen shut them down for a while, which was huge. So just impressive at-bats by everybody and our bullpen obviously just doing a great job like they have all year.”

Where did this win leave the Diamondbacks?

The Diamondbacks have a great opportunity ahead of them, with the trade deadline on Aug. 3 and two-plus months of potentially high-stakes baseball.

The race for the third NL Wild Card spot entering Monday goes as follows:

WC3: St. Louis Cardinals (51-47)
WC3: Miami Marlins (52-48)
WC3: Pittsburgh Pirates (52-48)
Arizona Diamondbacks (51-48)
Washington Nationals (50-50)
San Diego Padres (49-50)

The Diamondbacks have one more game against the Cardinals, a makeup game from a previous rainout, on Thursday. Arizona will then visit the Nationals and the Pirates in order. The D-backs will host the Padres after they return from their 10-game road trip on trade deadline day.

Winning a series against the Cardinals is a great way to open the second half, and now that work has to continue against the teams the D-backs are in direct competition against.

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