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You could see the inning, the game, the season slipping away. Holding a 3-1 lead entering the bottom of the seventh against the Cardinals, the Diamondbacks gave up a run to make it 3-2. Felipe Lopez's single figured to score Cesar Izturis from second base, until third base coach Jose Oquendo shockingly held up Izturis at third.

Still, things looked grim for the Snakes. The league's best player, Albert Pujols, stepped in with two on and two outs. D-backs starter Brandon Webb looked dead tired, breathing heavily, sweating through his cap, going deep into his pitch count, looking like a greatly diminished version of his Cy Young contender self. Pujols worked the count to 2-0. Given Pujols' flair for the dramatic, you had to figure a big hit was coming next.

NL WEST
TEAM	RECORD	GB
Los Angeles	81-75	--
Arizona	79-77	2
For more on the races, see Hunt for October.

Instead, Webb challenged him with a fastball that surprised Pujols for strike one. A changeup well inside got Pujols to chase for strike two. Webb then bounced a pitch to run the count full. With his 121st pitch of the game, Webb reared back and fired a sinking changeup … and Pujols swung through it.

And with that, the Diamondbacks were back in the playoff hunt.

It looked like they were done three days ago. A hot streak by the Dodgers and a cold snap by the D-backs left Arizona 3½ games behind L.A. with just eight games to go. Manny Ramirez was the talk of the league, his contributions propelling the Dodgers into the division lead after Arizona led for most of the season. Though the D-backs countered by picking up Adam Dunn, the team didn't click. Disappointed Arizona fans would go into the offseason asking what might have been.

What if the D-backs had held on to closer Jose Valverde, instead of leaving a void that came back to bite the Snakes numerous times? What if the team hadn't signed Eric Byrnes to a lucrative long-term contract last season, prompting Arizona to trade Carlos Quentin just before his monster breakout year? What if twin aces Webb and Danny Haren hadn't suddenly hit a wall in late August, going seven straight starts between them without a win and with a combined 8.31 ERA?

With six games now left until the finish line, a lot of questions have been answered. Arizona has won three games in a row, combining improved offense with timely pitching to chop the Dodgers lead down to two games in the West. Chad Qualls has emerged as a reliable closer, replacing the beleaguered Brandon Lyon. Randy Johnson has dipped into the fountain of youth, emerging as one of the best No. 3 starters in the game. The offense has picked up, led by shortstop Stephen Drew and his .968 OPS in September. Dunn has also provided a lift, albeit one that's not quite Quentin-esque.

Perhaps most importantly, Haren and Webb have returned to form. Haren twirled a 12-strikeout, four-hit shutout on Sept. 16 against the Giants to snap his losing streak, then won again with a workmanlike performance in Colorado on Sunday. Webb has won his past three starts and in that span has a 1.64 ERA, running his record to 22-7 and challenging Tim Lincecum's superior season (though he does have fewer wins -- 17 -- than Webb). The D-backs have to play three more games against the Cardinals in St. Louis, then will play three against the Rockies back in Arizona. The Dodgers figure to have an easier path, with three against the Padres and three at San Francisco.

Still, if the D-backs replicate some of Monday night's events, this race could go right down to the final day. After escaping a terrifying seventh and tacking on an insurance run in the top of the eighth, Arizona handed the ball to the always-shaky Lyon. The righty reliever put runners on second and third with no outs, setting up a possible disaster inning. Instead, Lyon induced a soft liner by Aaron Miles, right into the glove of second baseman David Eckstein. The Cardinals' Troy Glaus had strayed too far off second, allowing Eckstein to flip to Drew for a double play. A fly out later, Lyon had pulled a Houdini and the D-backs looked like good bets to come away with a win.

That is, until the nervy ninth. Qualls put a runner on third with two outs. He then ran the count full on Lopez. One more errant pitch and the Cardinals would bring the potential winning run to the plate, in the form of the revenge-seeking Pujols. Instead, Qualls got Lopez to ground out to second, and Arizona had its win.

If the D-backs can come back and overtake the Dodgers for a second straight division title, they'll remember Monday night … and two brushes with death by Pujols.

Brewers also not dead yet

Milwaukee can thank the Mets (and the new Hebrew Hammer, Jason Marquis) for keeping their postseason hopes alive. The Brewers have gone 5-15 in September, replicating their late-season nosedive in '07. But a three-game losing streak by the Mets has left the Brewers just a game back in the wild-card race, as Milwaukee tries to claim its first playoff berth in 26 years.

The schedules set up well for the Brewers to turn the trick. While both the Mets and Brewers have three games left against the best-in-the-league Cubs, the Mets face the upstart Marlins to close out the season, while Milwaukee will play the lowly Pirates in a three-game series this week. The Brewers might get an added bonus if Chicago decides to play its September call-ups in the final series of the season, since the Cubs have sewn up home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs and their regulars need rest.

On the downside, it won't happen without improved pitching. The bullpen has melted down multiple times this month, with both the suspect set-up corps and closer Salomon Torres running into trouble. Co-ace Ben Sheets is iffy with elbow soreness, weakening a pitching staff that's yielded a gaudy 5.25 runs a game in September. With CC Sabathia free agency-bound at season's end, the Brewers should consider starting the big lefty twice in the final six games, especially if Sheets can't answer the bell. With their two best starters likely gone after this season, it could be a while before Milwaukee gets another chance like this.

Games to watch tonight

National League
• Brewers (David Bush) vs. Pirates (Jeff Karstens)
• Phillies (Cole Hamels) vs. Braves (Mike Hampton)
• Mets (Johan Santana) vs. Cubs (Sean Marshall)
• Diamondbacks (Randy Johnson) vs. Cardinals (Kyle Lohse)
• Dodgers (Chad Billingsley) vs. Padres (Wade LeBlanc)

American League
• Rays (James Shields) vs. Orioles (Garrett Olson)
• Red Sox (Tim Wakefield) vs. Indians (Cliff Lee)

Game of the night

• White Sox (Javier Vazquez) vs. Twins (Scott Baker)

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has challenged the talented but erratic Vazquez to come up big in the opener of this pivotal three-game set. The White Sox own a 2½-game lead in the AL Central and can clinch by taking two out of three from Minnesota.

Jonah Keri is a regular contributor to Page 2 and the editor and co-author of "Baseball Between the Numbers." You can contact him at jonahkeri@gmail.com.