Diamondbacks' Gritty Win Over Red Sox Was Way Bigger Than You Think

Winning tends to be the remedy of all baseball ailments. The Arizona Diamondbacks rallied for a much-needed such victory over the Boston Red Sox — 7-6 in extra innings — on Wednesday afternoon.

It was not a must-win game, nor was it a win that clinched a series victory after Arizona dropped the first two contests in blowout fashion.

But given the events of the previous two days, the Diamondbacks desperately needed to end their road trip on a high note.

With star second baseman Ketel Marte unexpectedly no-showing to Fenway Park and later landing on the Restricted List — and all the further, confusing developments since — Arizona's morale appeared low on Monday and Tuesday. But they climbed out of that funk and delivered one of the grittier, most impactful wins of the season, all circumstances considered.

"I couldn't be more proud of these guys," manager Torey Lovullo said postgame. "I mean, winning makes all the bad go away. We've dealt with some difficult circumstances, and they just blocked it all out. You can hear that music bumping in there right now, they deserve it and — onward."

Diamondbacks earn gritty win over blazing-hot Red Sox

Jun 3, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Jose Fernandez against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Lovullo acknowledged that, given the events of the past two days, this win was one of the more emotional such road-trip-ending wins he's seen.

"You can see the excitement and the dugout," the manager said. "And the conga line at the end of this game inside of this clubhouse was a pretty special moment for me that I'll never forget.

"These guys deserve to feel good about this particular win against this team in this venue, given the awkward set of circumstances."

Despite the rockiest start of Brandon Pfaadt's post-option stretch, in which the right-hander was bit for three homers and five runs, the Diamondbacks held on.

Arizona's bullpen bent, but did not break, pitching 4.1 scoreless innings. Righty Jonathan Loaisiga was awarded the win, pitching the ninth and 10th innings while allowing only the ghost runner to score. A hard-earned RBI single from Nolan Arenado and impressive bases-loaded walk by rookie Jose Fernandez helped Arizona stave off its extra-inning demons — for the time being.

"This has been a challenging couple of days, I'm not gonna lie," Lovullo said. "I'm trying to do my best to keep the ship on the course, and these guys went out there and did everything they were supposed to do."

"I expect that there's gonna be a lot of very happy people. You know the scene in Airplane! where the plane is bumping like this [motioning his horizontal forearm up and down] across the country? I think that that's probably gonna be a little bit of what it's like. And they deserve it."

Aug 16, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno (14) celebrates hitting a home run against the Atlanta Braves with Arizona Diamondbacks third base & catching coach J.R. House (71) during the fourth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Regardless of how the Marte situation ends up coming to a conclusion, the Diamondbacks are still firmly in the mix of playoff contention. With Wednesday's win, Arizona gained a game on the San Diego Padres in the NL playoff picture, sitting just one game back of the final Wild card berth.

With or without Marte, the Diamondbacks managed to find a way. No matter what they get out of their second baseman moving forward, Arizona does have what it takes to win the games it needs to win.

"We got 26 engaged dogs out there that wanna win a baseball game, and that's all I care about," said Lovullo. "And I will put in the best players that I possibly can, that are gonna focus and execute to win baseball games."

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