I think this was a disappointing step backward for the Diamondbacks, and not just because of the 5-2 loss to the Royals. The bigger issue is that Zac Gallen and Michael Soroka returning to the mix did not, at least in this game, give Arizona the lift it needed. That’s the kind of result that makes a late-season push feel a little less sturdy than it should.
According to the recap at Dbacks.com, Arizona could not complete a three-game sweep of Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday night, Sept. 9. That matters because this is the part of the season when every missed chance starts to echo. The Diamondbacks were trying to keep momentum moving in the right direction, and instead they walked away with a loss that pushed them out of the third National League Wild Card spot, as noted in the Yahoo Sports roundup.
What stands out to me is that this wasn’t just a random bad night. The headline itself — "Gallen and Soroka underwhelm" — tells you the story the team would rather not be telling. When two returning starters are part of the conversation and the result is still a loss, it raises the stakes for everything else around them. Pitching depth is supposed to steady a team in September, not leave it searching for answers.
I also think the timing makes this sting more. The Yahoo Sports item, which points readers to the Dbacks.com recap, frames the game as part of a broader postseason push. That’s exactly why the loss feels so important: Arizona is in the stretch where good teams have to turn returning pieces into actual wins, not just hopeful signs. A return to action is nice. A return to form is what really changes the picture.
So my read is pretty simple: this was an underwhelming night for Arizona, and the concern is less about one box score than about whether the Diamondbacks can afford more of them. In September, the standings don’t leave much room for “almost.”
