New York Yankees at Arizona Diamondbacks

Saturday night at Chase Field began with an uplifting and emotional tribute to the 2001 World Series champion Diamondbacks, most of whom were on hand for the 25th anniversary celebration and one of the most memorable national anthems you’ll ever see. Cam Schlittler and the Yankees seemed determined to spoil the festivities, with the American League Cy Young Award frontrunner taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning, but Arizona would have its say. The D-backs broke through on Jordan Lawlar’s two-run triple in the fifth, chased Schlittler from a tie game after six innings and snapped their three-game skid when pinch-hitter Pavin Smith crushed a walk-off homer to secure a much-needed 5-3 victory -- a fitting tribute to Luis Gonzalez’s Game 7 heroics a quarter century ago. “This came on a really special night,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “That entire 2001 team is here. There was a ton of energy in the stadium, so maybe there was a little bit of magic somewhere in these rafters that everybody picked up on.” With the score tied at 3, Ildemaro Vargas opened the ninth inning with a walk, but only after an ABS challenge reversed a strike-three call on a full-count pitch that was below the zone. One out later, Smith sent a Michael Fulmer cutter into the right-center-field seats. While Gonzalez was easily the MVP of the 2001 Diamondbacks, Smith made for the unlikeliest of September heroes on the ‘26 squad, especially if you wind the clock back to July when he was designated for assignment.