For the third-straight season, the Arizona Diamondbacks will not be participating in October baseball.

The Diamondbacks were eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday following a 9-4 loss against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park in San Diego. Even if Arizona had won, it would not have mattered, as the Philadelphia Phillies maintained their lead for the third and final National League Wild Card spot with a 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

So, what went wrong for the Diamondbacks in their final game of 2026?

In Arizona’s loss, there was no knockout punch early.

Instead, the Padres scored at a slow and steady pace, one run at a time, until they were leading the Diamondbacks 3-0.

In the bottom of the third inning, Manny Machado hit an RBI single off Arizona right-hander Michael Soroka to get things going. Then, the hole got a bit deeper in the bottom of the fourth when Soroka gave up a leadoff solo home run to Gavin Sheets to make it a 2-0 game.

In the bottom of the fifth, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo took Soroka off the mound after he gave up a two-out single. Juan Morillo took his place and allowed an RBI single that made it 3-0. 

Soroka finished the afternoon with three hits, three earned runs, two walks and four strikeouts across 4.2 innings of work. 

For a moment, the Diamondbacks used whatever fight they had left in them to get back into the game.

In the top of the sixth, Ketel Marte delivered an RBI single to finally get Arizona on the board, and after San Diego scored a run in the bottom of the inning to make it a 4-1 game, the Diamondbacks came storming from behind.

The top of the seventh opened with a leadoff double by Nolan Arenado before an RBI double by Corbin Carroll. Then, Tim Tawa hit an RBI single to cut the Padres’ lead to one before Lars Nootbar hit a game-tying RBI single.

It seemed as if Arizona had stolen the momentum, but the Padres quickly made them pay.

In the bottom of the seventh, Diamondbacks reliever Justin Martinez took the mound and immediately crumbled by walking the four consecutive batters after getting the first out of the frame.

Because of the walks, San Diego recaptured the lead, and after Kevin Ginkel replaced Martinez on the mound, he allowed a two-RBI single that gave the Padres a 7-4 lead. In the eighth inning, they piled on the damage.

After Arizona went scoreless in the top of the eighth, San Diego added two more runs in the bottom frame when Diamondbacks righty Ryne Nelson gave up a two-RBI single. At that point, the deal was sealed.

Now that Chase Field will not feature baseball until next spring, this organization has some decisions to make. Will Lovullo make it to next season, how much will the roster change? The only certainty right now for the Diamondbacks is the sting of disappointment.