Diamondbacks rookie's pinch-hit homer completes four-run comeback, tightens NL wild-card race

Ryan Waldschmidt was in the batting cage, working against left-handed pitching, when the Arizona Diamondbacks' rookie outfielder learned he might be needed. By the time he stepped to the plate three innings later, the Diamondbacks had climbed back from four runs down against the Chicago Cubs, and Waldschmidt delivered the finishing blow — a pinch-hit, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth that turned a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 win at Chase Field on Tuesday night.

The homer, struck off Cubs closer Jacob Webb and sent 408 feet over the left-field wall, was Waldschmidt's second walk-off shot of the season and the first pinch-hit, walk-off home run by a rookie in Arizona Diamondbacks franchise history, according to the team's official recap. It also extended one of the more improbable numbers in baseball this year: Arizona's 40th comeback victory of 2026, the most in the majors, per the recap published on MLB.com.

A four-run deficit erased

Arizona had been shut out over the first 16 innings of the three-game series against Chicago, including a 7-0 loss the previous night, and appeared headed for a third straight defeat when the Cubs carried a 4-0 lead into the eighth inning. The Diamondbacks began clawing back when catcher Gabriel Moreno's check-swing double down the first-base line ended the shutout, and shortstop Geraldo Perdomo followed with a two-run single that cut the margin to 4-3.

Arizona took the field for the ninth still trailing by a run, but with Chicago unable to add to its total, the Diamondbacks got their chance. With a runner aboard and two outs, manager Torey Lovullo turned to Waldschmidt off the bench. The rookie had spent part of the game preparing for a left-handed reliever before switching his mental approach when Chicago instead brought in the right-handed Webb.

Waldschmidt worked the count before driving a slider from Webb over the left-field fence, scoring both the tying and go-ahead runs on one swing and sending the Chase Field crowd into a frenzy as teammates mobbed him at home plate.

A rookie stamps his arrival

The home run was only the third of Waldschmidt's brief major-league career, and the second to come in walk-off fashion — his first arrived roughly three weeks earlier against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 23-year-old, drafted 31st overall by Arizona in the 2024 MLB Draft out of the University of Kentucky after starting his college career at Charleston Southern, made his major-league debut earlier this season, per his player page on Baseball-Reference.

Waldschmidt described the moment afterward with the ease of a player who had not let the stakes overwhelm him.

"I had a smile on my face. I was just really grateful for the opportunity to be in the major leagues, getting to pinch hit in the ninth inning with a chance to win the game."

Lovullo, whose team has built its season on late-inning resilience, credited the club's refusal to fold after falling behind early.

"These boys don't quit," Lovullo said, adding that the team "plays until the last out." He described the pace of decision-making in a game like Tuesday's as chaotic in the best sense, saying he was "having four or five different conversations ... in 25-second segments" as he weighed pinch-hitting options late in the game.

Starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt, who did not factor into the decision but watched the rally unfold from the dugout, echoed the sentiment: "We're resilient ... we're never out of it."

Tightening the wild-card race

The win carried weight beyond the highlight-reel finish. Arizona improved to 70-63 and, combined with a loss by San Diego on Tuesday, pulled to within one game of the Padres for the final National League wild-card berth, according to the ESPN game story. With just over five weeks left in the regular season, the Diamondbacks remain squarely in the mix for a postseason spot after a summer in which their record has been built as much on late rallies as on dominant performances, a trend reflected in the National League wild-card standings maintained on MLB.com.

• Final score: Diamondbacks 5, Cubs 4
• Arizona trailed 4-0 entering the eighth inning before scoring five unanswered runs
• Waldschmidt's homer was his third career home run and second walk-off
• The win was Arizona's league-leading 40th comeback victory of the season

For Chicago, the loss stung after the Cubs had shut down Arizona's offense for a game and a half. Webb's blown save marked a rare late-inning breakdown for a bullpen that has generally held up during the Cubs' playoff push. A separate account of the blown four-run lead from the Cubs' side laid out just how costly the collapse could prove to Chicago's tightening wild-card math in September, even though the club can still clinch a postseason spot regardless of Wednesday's outcome.

What happens next

The two teams play the rubber match of their series Wednesday afternoon at Chase Field, with Arizona sending right-hander Eduardo Rodriguez to the mound against Chicago left-hander Matthew Boyd, first pitch scheduled for 12:40 p.m. local time. Arizona then hosts a four-game set against the San Francisco Giants before the Phillies visit Chase Field, a stretch that will test whether Tuesday's dramatics can translate into sustained momentum. The Diamondbacks are also expecting second baseman Ketel Marte, an All-Star and a central figure in their lineup, to return from injury in the coming week, a development that could further bolster their wild-card push.

For now, the moment belongs to Waldschmidt, a rookie who has twice delivered a walk-off swing while his team trailed — a distinction that has quickly made him one of the more talked-about young players on a roster fighting for October baseball.