Reviewing the Diamondbacks’ biggest comebacks

Tuesday saw the Diamondbacks tie a franchise record, coming back from six runs down to beat the Padres. It was the tenth in team history after trailing by such a margin, and the first in just over seven years. I thought on the off-day, it might be fun to go through all of them, and see which were particularly memorable. So, below you’ll find details of each. Included for the game is the lowest Win Probability at any point in the game, as shown on Fangraphs. The header links to the box-score. Note: not included is the team’s all-time best comeback by Win Probability, which of course is the September 27, 2011 win over LA, where Arizona came back from five down with two outs in the bottom of the tenth (WP low: 0.04%!)

June 28, 2022: Padres 6 @ Diamondbacks 7

WP low: 1.7%. Big play: Christian Walker RBI fielder’s choice (+38.6%). If this probably doesn’t need much description, I guess people may be reading this in the future! After four solid innings, Zac Gallen gave up six in the fifth, and the Arizona offense had just one hit through the seventh inning stretch. The D-backs took advantage of Padres’ sloppiness with four in the bottom of the seventh, tied it with two in the eighth, and Josh Rojas motored all the way round from second for the fourth walk-off six-run comeback in franchise history. Recap: It Doesn’t Have to Be Pretty

June 3, 2015: Braves 8 @ Diamondbacks 9

WP low: 7.4%. Big play: Chris Owings single to right (+19.8%). It got out of hand early, the Braves jumping out 6-0 in the middle of the second, though starter Rubby de la Rosa stuck around for five innings. The Diamondbacks chipped away, eventually taking the lead with a three-run seventh, including Owings’s game-tying single which scored Yasmany Tomas. Jarrod Saltalamacchia gave Arizona the lead with a sacrifice fly, and an error in the eighth provided a much-needed insurance run, as Brad Ziegler allowed a rare home-run before closing the door. Recap: Never say die Dbacks complete comeback against Braves

June 8, 2012: Athletics 8 @ Diamondbacks 9

WP low: 1.6%. Big play: Ryan Roberts 3-run homer (+90.7%). Yeah, it’s that man again! No-one had a flair for the dramatic like Roberts, who owns the top two at-bats in franchise history by Win Probability, this only beaten by the one against LA (+91.1%). Daniel Hudson couldn’t get through two innings, as the A’s took a 6-0 lead, though a two-run Jason Kubel homer helped half the deficit in the bottom of the frame. Arizona were down to their final out, still trailing by a pair. But Chris Young walked, and Aaron Hill singled to set up Roberts for more walk-off home-run heroics. Recap: Ryan Roberts Rescues Rocked Hudson

April 8, 2012: Giants 6 @ Diamondbacks 7

WP low: 4.8%. Big play: Miguel Montero reached on fielder’s choice (+17.3%). Exactly two months earlier, the D-backs had done something similar, coming back from a 6-0 hole dug by Josh Collmenter. You won’t be surprised to learn Roberts was involved, his two-run homer being followed by a Lyle Overbay bomb to pull within one. Back-to-back errors with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh allowed the tying and go-ahead runs to cross home-plate. Craig Breslow worked a scoreless eighth, and Bryan Shaw got his first career save, albeit after putting the tying run in scoring position. Recap: Easter Miracle Brings AZ Back From Dead

August 9, 2011: Astros 9 @ Diamondbacks 11

WP low: 3.6%. Big play: Justin Upton two-run homer (+26.4%). Arizona scored in the bottom of the first, then Houston responded with seven unanswered runs off Jason Marquis, although three were unearned, the result of a Willie Bloomquist error. 7-1 down after four, the D-backs' bats struck back quickly. They delivered a four-spot in the fifth, and another in the sixth inning, with Upton's shot giving the Diamondbacks a 9‐7 lead. The game wasn't over, because Houston had the tying run on third in the eighth, and also got it to second base in the ninth. But J.J. Putz notched his 27th save, with Micah Owings improving his record to 6-0. Recap: Nevuh Fuhget - The Pony Dome Oh, yeah... THAT game... :)

May 27, 2011: Diamondbacks 7 @ Astros 6

WP low: 2.5%. Big play: Chris Young, single to pitcher plus E1 (+31.2%). In 2011, Houston must have felt no advantage was safe against Arizona! The only case on the list where our starter got the W, Daniel Hudson picking up an unexpected win despite being 6-0 down after four. He stuck around for six innings, by which point the D-backs closed the gap to 6-4, on a pair of two-run homers by Juan Miranda. Hudson was pinch-hit for, leading off the seventh, and the Diamondbacks put up another crooked number. They scored three to take the lead, and their bullpen held off the Astros, despite the tying run getting into scoring position each of the final three innings. Recap: Juan for the Money, Two for the Show

June 19, 2007: Rays 8 @ Diamondbacks 10 (10)

WP low: 3.4%. Big play: Tony Clark two-run homer (+46.8%). Arizona fell behind on the very first pitch, after Akinori Iwamura homered off Doug Davis, and by the middle of the fourth, they were 7-1 down. In the bottom of the sixth, they still trailed 8-2, before two runs there and two more in the seventh brought them within striking distance. They didn’t tie things up, however, until Clark came off the bench to deliver a pinch-hit homer with one out in the ninth (Anybody... anytime...). After Brandon Lyon worked a scoreless bottom half, into extras we went. Conor Jackson singled and one out later, Chris Young had a walk-off homer to complete the comeback. Recap: (No) Sympathy for the Devil (Rays)

May 19, 2007: Diamondbacks 9 @ Pirates 8

WP low: 2.7%. Big play: Tony Clark grand-slam (+34.5%). What Roberts was to the 2011 D-backs, Clark was to the 2007 team, coming up inexplicably big on occasion. Micah Owings went in the wood-chipper, not getting through three and Arizona was 7-1 down by the end of that frame. They were only one closer going into the seventh, when a homer by Conor Jackson got them within slam range. Two outs, two walks and a single later, Clark delivered. We haven’t had a game-tying grand-slam in 15+ years since this. Next inning, Carlos Quentin came up with the bases loaded: the result was “only” a two-run single, providing the eventual margin of victory. Recap: Never Say Die

May 2, 2006: Dodgers 8 @ Diamondbacks 10

WP low: 4.2%. Big play: Chad Tracy grand-slam (+29.6%). If you’re going to come back, you might as well do it all at once. That’s what Arizona did here, after heading into the bottom of the fifth 6-0 down. They scored seven times there, sending thirteen men to the plate, with Tracy matching Clark’s future feat, tying things up with a slam off Odalis Perez. Jackson doubled in the go-ahead run later in the inning: it ended with Jeff Davanon grounding out, with the bases loaded. Though the Dodgers tied things up at seven, an RBI single by Craig Counsell in the seventh gave the Diamondbacks the lead again, this time for good. Recap: The Great Escape

September 15, 1998: Giants 6 @ Diamondbacks 7 (11)

WP low: 4.2%. Big play: Travis Lee walk-off single to center (+36.3%). The longest of the comebacks, this one required 11 innings. Yet it still took only three hours, 38 minutes, exactly the same time as Tuesday’s regulation comeback. The Giants bombed Amaury Telemaco in the fourth, the game going from scoreless to 6-0 in 19 pitches, capped by a Shawon Dunston slam. Arizona halved the deficit on a Matt Williams homer, and trailed by two in the ninth. RBIs by Andy Fox and Tony Batista took us into extras, where Travis Lee singled with two outs in the 11th, giving Arizona a rare walk-off win in their rookie campaign. Recap: Sorry, when this one was played, I was living in South London...