The Arizona Diamondbacks revealed their lineup for Tuesday night’s opener against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, a game that felt bigger than a single night on the schedule. Arizona entered the three-game set with six games left and a four-game deficit for the third and final Wild Card berth, so every batting decision now carries extra weight.
The game was scheduled for 5:40 p.m. Arizona time, and the lineup was built around left-handed pitcher Kyle Freeland. The Diamondbacks had scored seven runs in 3.2 innings against him the last time they faced him, which made the matchup a familiar one. Lars Nootbaar was set to sit, Tim Tawa was moving from first base to left field, and Jose Fernandez was set to play first base.
Fernandez’s name mattered for more than the position change. He hit.308 in August and had six at-bats, going 1-for-6, since his most recent recall on September 13. That small sample is what the Diamondbacks had to work with as they tried to squeeze value out of every remaining game in Colorado.
There was also a quieter choice inside the batting order. Corbin Carroll was listed seventh, another sign that Arizona was still trying to find the right shape for a player it had already moved around in the lineup in an effort to help him out of a deep slump. The Diamondbacks did not have the luxury of waiting for things to sort themselves out, not with the Wild Card race still open but slipping toward its last turn.
That is the tension hanging over the rest of the series. Arizona can still chase the final berth, but it has only six games to close a four-game gap, and the next three come at Coors Field against a team it needs to navigate carefully. What happens in Colorado will decide whether this lineup is a one-night adjustment or the last stand of a season that is running out of room.
