Major League Baseball

Better late than never: D-backs enter NL West race as legitimate contenders

Published Aug. 24, 2015 6:08 a.m. ET

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With their fourth consecutive win on Sunday, the Arizona Diamondbacks leapt above the .500 mark for the first time since April 22, but more importantly pulled within five games of the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West standings.

"I love the way we play," outfielder Ender Inciarte said. "We're a different team. When you see other teams, you don't see them hustling the way we do or playing as hard as we do. We really want to make it to the playoffs and you can tell that everybody is on the same page. We are fun to watch. I enjoy watching my teammates play."

While Arizona is still in third place in the division, their proximity to the top is an encouraging note, particularly because they'll have an opportunity to jump up in the standings when they take on the second-place Giants and first-place Dodgers in a combined 13 games in September.

"It means something if we keep playing well," first baseman Paul Goldschmidt said of the D-backs' recent success. "If we don't keep playing well, then it doesn't mean that much. The goal isn't to be .500 or one above, it's to try to find a way to get to the playoffs. I don't know how many games we are back, but we're moving in the right direction. We just have to try to keep it going."

Before Arizona takes on its NL West foes in head-to-head matchups next month, it will have to face one of the best teams in MLB, as it plays host to the St. Louis Cardinals for a four-game series that begins on Monday.

"If we are going to make it, we want to do it against those teams," closer Brad Ziegler said of facing the top teams in the National League. "And if we're not, then it's a good gauge for us to see where we're at and see how far we have to go to get there. It'll be a good test for us, for sure."

(h/t Arizona Republic)