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ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Phillies lose 4th straight, Diamondbacks control their own destiny

The Diamondbacks now control their own destiny, but a loss Saturday at San Diego would put the control back in the Phillies' hands.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 26: Junior Caminero #13 of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrates aft...

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 26: Junior Caminero #13 of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrates after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on September 26, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

(Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

The Philadelphia Phillies dropped a second straight game to the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday, this time 12-1, which means the Arizona Diamondbacks control their own destiny in the National League Wild Card race.

It’s the fourth straight loss for Philadelphia and the sixth in the last eight games, continuing to keep the door open for Arizona.

The Diamondbacks now control their own destiny, but a loss Saturday at San Diego would put the control back in the Phillies’ hands. Arizona trails San Diego 10-4 in the seventh inning. It would take a massive comeback for the Diamondbacks to remain in control of their postseason lives.

The Rays, who have clinched the No. 1 seed in the American League, jumped on the Phillies early with three runs in the first inning and blew the game open in the fifth and sixth innings with seven runs combined.

Tampa Bay led 10-1 through seven innings before adding a couple more runs in the ninth inning.

A Diamondbacks win on Saturday would tie them with the Phillies for the final NL Wild Card spot going into Sunday’s Game 162. An Arizona loss would mean the Diamondbacks would be relying on another Phillies loss on Sunday and a win of their own to make the postseason.

Arizona holds the tiebreaker over Philadelphia.

Catch the rest of Diamondbacks-Padres on Arizona Sports 98.7 and the app.

Douglas Santo ArizonaSports.com editor

Douglas Santo is a digital editor for ArizonaSports and KTAR.com. Santo spent time covering Arizona State football, basketball and other sports throughout college and graduated Arizona State University in 2025. He has written for Sun Devil Daily and… Read more

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