D-backs' Record-Tying Comeback vs Cardinals Was Bigger Than You Think

The Arizona Diamondbacks tied a franchise record on Sunday afternoon, but their 8-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals did much more than just send the Chase Field crowd home happy.

The Diamondbacks trailed as much as 7-0, as late as the sixth inning. Arizona had only come back to win a game after trailing by that much once before — on August 29, 2022 against the Phillies in what was Corbin Carroll's major league debut. Madison Bumgarner allowed all seven runs in that contest.

It was a strange, thrilling game on Sunday. Eduardo Rodriguez was banged around for the worst start of his season. Geraldo Perdomo hit his first career inside-the-park home run. Nolan Arenado punished his former club with a game-tying two run blast in the eighth.

And then, outfielder Max Kepler reached out below the zone in the 10th inning. He lined a changeup just over the head of Cardinals right fielder Lars Nootbaar for a walk-off double. The walk-off was Arizona's fifth of the season, and the 12th of Kepler's 12-year major league career.

But the comeback win was much bigger than just the score itself. The Diamondbacks claimed something they needed quite desperately: a season series tiebreaker with their National League opponents.

Diamondbacks' comeback win earns critical season series

Jul 6, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks outfielders Max Kepler (22), Tommy Troy (9) and Jorge Barrosa (1) celebrate their win over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Chadd Cady-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This game was not a must-win game, but it was a much more important one than most mid-July contests. The Cardinals, who came into the game with a 51-46 record, currently hold the final Wild Card slot in the National League.

With the win, the Diamondbacks now pull to just 0.5 games back of that spot at 51-48. But outside of simply gaining ground, Arizona has now clinched the tiebreaker with St. Louis. If it comes down to a close Wild Card race, the D-backs will only need to tie the Cardinals' record.

Winning Sunday was the easiest way to claim that season series. The two teams will play one more game, but that is a makeup game from a previously rained-out matchup.

Arizona has to travel to St. Louis to face the Cardinals in a one-off game on July 23, in the middle of a lengthy road trip. If the season series had come down to that game, it would have been that much tougher of a task to complete.

Clearly, the Diamondbacks still have a lot of work to do. They will need to stay hot to force GM Mike Hazen to buy at the Deadline, and will have to keep pace with other Wild Card hopeful clubs like the Marlins, Pirates and Nationals.

The job isn't close to finished, but games like Sunday's tend to pay extremely positive dividends down the road.

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