Arizona Diamondbacks 3, San Diego Padres 4

While attention was focused elsewhere, the D-backs finished the season lame, blowing a late lead to end 2018 with and a final record of 82-80. In a tight contest, Arizona scored a go-ahead run on Socrates Brito’s sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth, which backed up sole home-runs by Ketel Marte (#14) and a pinch-hit shot, above, by Steven Souza (#6). Marte had three of the Diamondbacks’ six hits.

Robbie Ray had a typically Ray-esque start, with a lot of strikeouts and a lot of pitches. He took 93 pitches to get through four innings, allowing two runs on five hits and four walks with eight strikeouts. Jimmie Sherfy did a great job in the fifth, stranding the runners on second and third he had inherited with no outs. Silvino Bracho worked two scoreless innings, and Yoan Lopez a scoreless eighth but Archie Bradley closed out his 2018 by blowing another save. Jake Barrett then completed the task in the 10th, on a walk-off wild pitch third strike sort of thing.

Elsewhere, we’re heading towards a double-barrel of Game #163 action tomorrow, as all four contending clubs in the NL West and Central look to have prevailed. That’ll mean the Rockies play one more time in Los Angeles, and the Brewers in Chicago, tomorrow afternoon.