The Arizona Diamondbacks lost 9-4 to the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night and have now split the first two games of their four-game series.
Ahead of Wednesday’s clash, which will feature Casey Mize for San Diego and Mitch Bratt for the Diamondbacks, Arizona manager Torey Lovullo made a major lineup change.
D-Backs Announce Ketel Marte Decision
After going 0-for-4 on Tuesday night, Lovullo has decided to keep star infielder Ketel Marte out of the starting lineup for Game 3 of the series.
Marte will not be the only player out of the lineup, as Nolan Arenado will also get the day off.
“In an effort to keep key players fresh for the final 47-game stretch, it looks like Nolan Arenado and Ketel Marte will get the day off today,” John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix noted.
Ildemaro Vargas will instead get the start at second base, while Tim Tawa will start at third base.
Diamondbacks 8/5
Nootbaar LF
Carroll RF
Perdomo SS
Moreno DH
Tawa 3B
Vargas 2B
McCann C
Locklear 1B
Waldschmidt CFBratt SP
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) August 5, 2026
Marte’s 2026 Season
Marte is in his 12th MLB season and his 10th year with the Diamondbacks. He’s currently batting .247 across 109 games and 441 at-bats with 60 runs, 109 hits, 19 home runs and 62 RBIs, while slugging .440 and maintaining a .744 OPS.
D-Backs Right Now
Arizona is in the middle of a strong postseason push, as the team currently sits at 60-54 overall, which has them second in the NL West, 8.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.
However, if the season ended today, the D-Backs would hold the third and final NL Wild Card spot and would travel for a best-of-three Wild Card Series against the Atlanta Braves.
Arizona Diamondbacks Announce Ketel Marte Decision During Padres Series