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Diamondbacks 5-1 Win Boosts Wild Card, Add Lars Nootbaar

8/4/2026

24 3 Full Breakdown

Summary

Tawa Homers

The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Diego Padres 5–1 on August 3, 2026, after Tim Tawa’s three-run homer in the fourth gave Arizona the lead.
Brandon Pfaadt threw 6 1/3 shutout innings, lowering his ERA to 1.55.
The win put Arizona two games ahead of San Diego in the NL wild-card race, tying the Diamondbacks (60-53) with Philadelphia and naming Eduardo Rodríguez (10-3, 2.48 ERA) as the next starter.

Summary

Hazen Acquires Nootbaar

Mike Hazen announced the Diamondbacks acquired outfielder Lars Nootbaar, who is owed $5.35 million of his 2026 salary and will not be a free agent until after 2027, before the August 3 deadline.
Arizona sent Daniel Eagen, Sandro Santana and a PTBNL, keeping the deal within $10 million of the luxury-tax line.
Hazen said the D-Backs failed to land a starter after rejecting offers requiring giving up Ryan Waldschmidt or Juan Morillo.

History

Historical Context

In 2001, the Arizona Diamondbacks became the fastest expansion franchise—just four seasons after their 1998 debut—to capture a World Series, defeating the three-time defending New York Yankees 4-3. MLB’s 2002 introduction of a $120 million luxury-tax threshold forced the club to balance big-payroll moves, a pattern echoed in 2026 when GM Mike Hazen added outfielder Lars Nootbaar while staying within the same ceiling.

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Tawa Homers

The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Diego Padres 5–1 on August 3, 2026, after Tim Tawa’s three-run homer in the fourth gave Arizona the lead.
Brandon Pfaadt threw 6 1/3 shutout innings, lowering his ERA to 1.55.
The win put Arizona two games ahead of San Diego in the NL wild-card race, tying the Diamondbacks (60-53) with Philadelphia and naming Eduardo Rodríguez (10-3, 2.48 ERA) as the next starter.

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