Diamondbacks miss playoffs on season's final day, losing 9-4 to Padres after Phillies clinch

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks missed the playoffs for the eighth time in nine seasons, losing 9-4 Sunday to the postseason-bound San Diego Padres shortly after the Philadelphia Phillies won to clinch the final NL wild card spot.

The Diamondbacks (86-76) began the regular season's final day with the chance to advance if they won and the Phillies lost, but neither happened. Arizona made a six-win improvement on last season's 80-82 mark, but a stunning World Series run in 2023 remains its only postseason appearance since 2017 despite five winning records in that stretch.

Gavin Sheets homered and Freddy Fermin drove in three runs for the Padres, who rested Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Xavier Bogaerts in their meaningless season finale. San Diego locked up the top NL wild card berth on Saturday before finishing 91-71, topping last year’s 90-win campaign with a club-record fifth consecutive winning season.

The Padres finished on a 17-3 surge, winning their final seven series. After sitting with a losing record in late July, the Padres will host the Chicago Cubs starting Tuesday night in their third consecutive trip to the postseason, another franchise first.

Arizona catcher Gabriel Moreno won the NL batting title despite being scratched about an hour before first pitch with a sore hamstring. Moreno became the first catcher to win a batting crown since Buster Posey in 2012, finishing at .311 — barely ahead of Philadelphia’s Luis Arraez (.310), who was out this weekend with a sprained ankle.

The Phillies led Tampa Bay 4-0 when the Diamondbacks took the field at Petco Park, and Philly never gave Arizona’s scoreboard-watchers much hope.

Randy Vásquez pitched six outstanding innings of one-run ball for San Diego, but reliever Griffin Canning (5-9) blew a three-run lead in the seventh with Corbin Carroll, Tim Tawa and Lars Nootbaar delivering RBIs for Arizona.

Jake Cronenworth then drew a bases-loaded walk from Justin Martinez (3-1) at almost the same moment the Phillies finished their 7-3 win over Tampa Bay. Fermin added a two-run single shortly afterward.

Manny Machado singled in Sung-Mun Song in the third and then left for a pinch-runner. The slugger ended the regular season with 399 career homers, third-most among active players behind Giancarlo Stanton and Mike Trout.

Sheets led off the fourth with his 17th homer in his second game back from a four-week absence with a left foot injury.

Padres: Michael King starts Game 1 against the Cubs at Petco Park. Chicago took two of three from San Diego in the Wild Card Round last season at Wrigley Field.

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