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Diamondbacks eliminated after Mets, Braves split doubleheader
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Diamondbacks eliminated after Mets, Braves split doubleheader

PHOENIX — The 2024 season is over for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who will not advance to the postseason after losing five of their last seven games.

The New York Mets and Atlanta Braves split their doubleheader on Monday, squeezing out the Diamondbacks as they somehow needed a sweep to advance.

All three teams finished 89-73, but the D-backs lost the tiebreakers and will enter the offseason earlier than planned after their World Series run a year ago.

The Mets will head to Milwaukee to take on the NL Central-winning Brewers, while the Braves will face top Wild Card San Diego Padres.

The Diamondbacks had the inside track to a postseason spot for much of the second half.

On August 25, the D-backs were in the first Wild Card spot, seven games ahead of New York on the outside looking in.

The Mets then won a three-game series at Chase Field to reach the tiebreaker, and since then, New York has been one of the hottest teams in baseball heading into the postseason.

Since August 25, the D-backs have gone a mediocre 14-17. The Mets stormed to a 21-10 record, the Braves went 19-13 and the Padres went 19-11.

The Diamondbacks improved their win total by five games from 2023, but a struggle in the final seven games proved costly, especially the 8-0 lead in Milwaukee.

This has been a difficult season for the Diamondbacks in many ways, namely injuries to a significant portion of their corps. Ketel Marte, Christian Walker, Geraldo Perdomo, Gabriel Moreno, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Ryne Nelson, Eduardo Rodriguez, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Alek Thomas all missed time on the injured list.

The pitching staff took a step back from preseason expectations with a team ERA of 4.63 (No. 27 in the MLB), and the offense faced inconsistent quiet starts in the first half from Eugenio Suarez and Corbin Carroll .

Those two turned their seasons around, and combined with a superstar output from Marte and contributions from a deep lineup, the Diamondbacks scored more runs than any other team in baseball with 886.

They also made the fewest errors, becoming the first club since 1900 to make 65 or fewer errors in consecutive seasons. And the late-game comebacks that defined the 2023 Answerbacks returned in the second half as this squad showed its resilience. These elements, combined with a shortened rotation, could have been a difficult test for opponents in October.

These key traits have faded a bit this past week as the pressure mounted, especially the defense on Friday and the offense on Saturday, both losses for the Padres. The Diamondbacks lost their last four games and made the postseason in 2023, but the NL was simply too good for a bad finish this time.

The Diamondbacks enter the offseason with key free agents Christian Walker, Paul Sewald, Kevin Newman and Josh Bell, team options for Suarez and Kelly and two-way options for Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk. Montgomery has a player option.

The postseason starts on Tuesday.