Diamondbacks are big winners these days, but first, they had to learn how to lose

Updated Oct. 5, 2023 6:45 p.m. ET

Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — To learn how to win on a consistent basis, the Arizona Diamondbacks had to figure out how to lose.

A terrible six weeks back in the middle of the summer threatened to derail their season, but the D-backs persevered and came out stronger. Now they’re on their way to an NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers after finishing a two-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers in the wild-card round on Wednesday.

Game 1 is Saturday in Los Angeles.

“I think the guys that we have are built for the moment," Arizona center fielder Alek Thomas said.

It hasn't always been this way for the D-backs, who are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2017. They're just two years removed from losing 110 games in a dismal 2021 campaign that tested everyone's patience.

Those days seemed long gone by midway through the current season. The D-backs had a 50-34 record on July 1 and climbed to the top of the NL West, 3 1/2 games ahead of the Dodgers.

Then, the bottom dropped out.

They were 7-25 over the next six weeks, falling to 57-59 by Aug. 11, basically undoing all the hard work they had done over the first three months. Arizona's players and coaches insisted there was no panic, but it was hard to believe them. An overwhelming “here we go again” feeling hung over the franchise.

It turned out those were some of the biggest character-building days of the season.

“For me, it was about not losing our identity,” first baseman Christian Walker said. "I think in those moments, it's easy to pull back and say, ‘What are we missing? What should we be doing differently?' Looking for one specific thing about why things aren’t going well.

“Sometimes, that's valid and warranted. But other times, it's just keeping your head down and keep plugging away. You're just in a funk.”

Eventually, the funk receded.

Sensational rookie Corbin Carroll and Walker started hitting again, Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly anchored the rotation and a handful of trade-deadline moves — like adding closer Paul Sewald and outfielder Tommy Pham — provided a spark.

A handful of under-the-radar relievers, like lefty Andrew Saalfrank and righty sidearmer Ryan Thompson, gave a shaky bullpen a huge lift in the middle innings. Both of them were prominent during the sweep of the Brewers.

“I just tried to tell people that if you have five good months and one really bad month, you're going to be able to play in October, no matter how bad the month is,” Sewald said. “But that was a pretty bad six weeks.”

But it didn't break the D-backs.

These days, no deficit seems too big for them to erase. They trailed early in both wild-card games against the Brewers before roaring back to silence the Milwaukee crowd.

“Looking back, I'm glad we didn't do any big knee-jerk reactions to rewrite how we're going to win,” Walker said. "I think we're a better team now because of that. We've learned how to come out of something like that, we've learned how to endure a tough stretch and not panic, freak out and lose our minds.

“That's just as important as knowing how to win.”

Now, the plucky Diamondbacks get their shot at the Dodgers, who have dominated the NL West for more than a decade. Los Angeles went 8-5 against Arizona during the regular season.

But the D-backs seem to be growing up fast every day. Carroll was great in the first playoff action of his career, with four hits over two games, including a homer and a double. Walker came up clutch in the first game against the Brewers, adding two vital insurance runs with a ninth-inning double.

Gallen pitched a gem in the second game. Sewald saved both victories with minimal drama.

Those ugly days in July now seem like a long time ago. But the lessons remain.

“I don’t think it’s any secret that the Dodgers have for sure had the division’s number, had our number,” Gallen said. “I think that we’ve also showed a growth in the sense of the mindset and the culture change here of being able to go into Dodger Stadium and hang with them.”

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