Diamondbacks 8, Yankees 4: Arenado's Second-Chance Slam in the Fifth

Foul, then the next pitch into the seats

September 20, 2026 - Phoenix - Nolan Arenado hooked a grand slam foul toward the left-field pole in the fifth. The next pitch went fair. Chase Field had its swing, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the New York Yankees 8-4 in the regular-season home finale.

Roof closed. 73 degrees. First pitch 1:10 p.m. Attendance 37,755. The game lasted 2 hours, 42 minutes. Arizona had 11 hits. New York had eight.

The MLB recap said it was Arenado's ninth career slam and his third this year, tying Paul Goldschmidt (2013) and Eugenio Suárez (2025) for the most in a single season in franchise history. It was also Arizona's 47th comeback win, the most in the majors. The Cubs, Padres, and Phillies all won Sunday too. The Diamondbacks remain four games out of the last National League Wild Card with six to play.

"I'm definitely peeking, I think we're all peeking," Arenado said of the out-of-town scoreboard, per the MLB recap. "We lead the Major Leagues in comeback wins. I don't know if that's the one you want to be No. 1 in, but I think it's pretty cool in the sense that we don't quit and we continue to fight to the end."

Three Yankee homers, then a bullpen game

Arizona scored first. Lars Nootbaar reached. Ketel Marte reached. Geraldo Perdomo singled Nootbaar home in the first. 1-0.

Corbin Burnes could not hold it. The third was three homers. Heliot Ramos hit his 13th. George Lombard Jr. hit his fifth, Luis García Jr. scoring with him. Spencer Jones hit his 11th. 4-1 Yankees. Burnes was done after 2 2/3: five hits, four earned, two walks, two strikeouts, three homers, 66 pitches.

The MLB recap said his velocity was down again and that he has a 7.84 ERA in three outings since returning. The current plan is one more start. Burnes and manager Torey Lovullo both said he is healthy and fighting the stuff, not an injury.

Ryne Nelson threw 1 1/3 scoreless after him. Justin Martinez (3-0) got the win with a perfect fifth, two strikeouts. Taylor Clarke, Brandyn Garcia, and Jonathan Loáisiga covered the last four. Arizona's relievers threw 6 1/3 scoreless. The MLB recap said the bullpen's September ERA is 2.34, best in the National League.

Will Warren started for New York and left the fifth with the tying run already in. Four and one-third. Six hits. Four earned. Three walks. Four strikeouts. Brent Headrick (7-4) inherited the mess and threw the pitch Arenado hit fair.

The fifth that swung the home finale

Nootbaar doubled. Marte reached. Gabriel Moreno reached. Corbin Carroll walked, Nootbaar scoring. 4-2. Bases still loaded. Arenado fouled the slam. Then he didn't.

27th homer. Four RBI. 6-4 Arizona. Pendulum, swung, as the MLB recap put it.

The seventh added two more. Moreno scored on Perdomo's triple. Carroll singled Perdomo home. 8-4. Perdomo finished 2-for-4 with a triple, two RBI, and the first-inning single. Nootbaar went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs. Marte, Moreno, and Carroll each reached twice. Arenado's line was 1-for-4 with the slam. One swing did the work.

Lovullo later praised a slow roller in the eighth, Lombard Jr. hitting it, Arenado charging and throwing in one motion. "'Did I just see what I thought I saw?'" Lovullo said, per the recap. "When I see him do things like that, and it happens often, I just shake my head and I'm grateful to be around him."

Burnes, on the same recap: "I would probably call that one the Nolan Arenado Game. It's pretty incredible, offensively, defensively, just clutch hitting. Really, what he's done the past couple weeks has been incredible, and it's awesome to see a guy kind of have a resurgence here later in his career and light a fire."

Four games back, six to play

Arizona is 82-74. The Yankees are 89-66. The Rays' division lead is six with seven to play after this loss. The Diamondbacks trail the Padres by five and still have a three-game set at Petco Park next week. They would need to make up two games before that series to hold a direct chance, the MLB recap said.

Chase Field finished 45-37, the club's best home record since 2017. Sunday was the last regular-season game there. Arenado gave it a slam that was almost foul.

Lombard Jr. went 2-for-4 with the two-run shot. Ramos and Jones each homered. Cody Bellinger was 1-for-4 with three strikeouts. New York's 4-1 lead lasted until the fifth. The bullpen never got it back.

AthX Engine after the baseball

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) put Arizona at 15 team fantasy points, tied for fourth on the slate. Arenado, Perdomo, and Lombard Jr. each had 8 hitting FP. New York finished at minus-1.

Fantasy points measure the night under platform scoring rules. Share prices also move with traders through dynamic pricing. They are related. They are not the same number.

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*Sources: ESPN recap and box score, MLB.com Gameday wrap, MLB.com schedule, and AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*