The Arizona Diamondbacks will be in the post-season for the first time since 2011. They clinched a NL Wild Card berth with a walk off victory over the Miami Marlins courtesy of a two run single by J.D. Martinez.
The D'Backs are MLB's most surprising team of 2017. After losing 93 games in 2016, little was expected of the club under rookie manager Torey Lovullo. Instead, the D'Backs jumped out of the gate and held at least one of the two NL Wild Card spots for nearly the entire season. If not for the (mostly) spectacular play of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the D'Backs would have been a far bigger story.
It does seem a shame that the D'Backs have one shot to stay in the post-season. After all, the D'Backs are 2.5 games ahead of the NL Central leading Chicago Cubs. But the Cubs (barring a collapse) are guaranteed at least three games in the NLDS against the Washington Nationals. The D'Backs will likely host their NL West rival Colorado Rockies in the NL Wild Card game although the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals are 2 and 2.5 games back of the Rockies, respectively, and still stand a chance for a playoff berth. At least D'Backs fans will get at least one chance to see their team play in the post-season. Rockies (or Brewers/Cardinals) fans might not be so fortunate.
If the D'Backs prevail in the NL Wild Card game then they will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. The D'Backs actually went 11-7 against the team with the best record in MLB including winning their last six match ups. So baseball pundits shouldn't overlook the D'Backs in the post-season.
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