Chase Field arrived dressed for memory Saturday night, honoring the 2001 World Series champions on the 25th anniversary of Arizona’s title run. By the end, Pavin Smith had given the crowd a new October-style moment, drilling a two-run homer in the ninth to send the Diamondbacks past the Yankees, 5-3.
A night that turned in the fifth
- Before the first pitch, many members of the 2001 championship club returned for the anniversary celebration, which also featured an emotional national anthem. The setting naturally recalled Luis Gonzalez’s Game 7-winning hit a quarter-century earlier.
- Yankees starter Cam Schlittler, the American League Cy Young Award frontrunner, quieted Arizona early and carried a no-hit bid into the fifth inning.
- The Diamondbacks finally broke through in that fifth. Jordan Lawlar lined a two-run triple, putting Arizona on the board and changing the tone of the game.
- Schlittler worked through six innings, departing with the score even. Arizona had erased the early pressure but still needed one more late answer to avoid a fourth straight loss.
- In the ninth, Ildemaro Vargas led off by drawing a walk after an automated ball-strike challenge overturned what had initially been called strike three on a full-count pitch.
- With one out, Smith jumped on a Michael Fulmer cutter and drove it into the right-field seats for the walk-off blast.
Smith supplies the finish
Smith’s homer set off the kind of celebration Chase Field had been waiting for all evening. On a night built around the franchise’s finest memory, the Diamondbacks found a timely finish of their own, turning a tied game into a 5-3 win and ending their three-game skid.
The victory also kept some air in Arizona’s postseason chase. With seven games remaining, the Diamondbacks stand four games behind the final National League Wild Card position.
