DENVER -- It wasn¡¯t a ¡°must-win¡± game for the D-backs when they took the field for their series finale against the Rockies at Coors Field on Wednesday. But Arizona needed a win.

After dropping their first two games to Colorado and scoring a combined four runs, the team with the highest-scoring offense in the game needed a reset. It also needed to maintain its position in the National League Wild Card standings.

Not only did the offense return in Arizona¡¯s 9-4 win, but one of the club¡¯s big offseason signings turned in his finest performance in a D-backs uniform.

Eduardo Rodriguez, who began the season on the injured list due to a left lat strain and didn¡¯t make his D-backs debut until Aug. 7, posted a 5.50 ERA over his first seven starts and hadn¡¯t gone more than 5 2/3 innings in any of them.

But on Wednesday, the left-hander tamed the Rockies¡¯ offense -- and their ballpark -- with 6 1/3 strong frames, over which he gave up two runs on five hits while walking one and striking out 11. Those 11 K¡¯s were the most in a single game for Rodriguez since Sept. 14, 2019, when he was with the Red Sox.

¡°We needed him to step up in a big way,¡± said manager Torey Lovullo. ¡°And he did.¡±

With Ryne Nelson (and his 3.39 ERA since the All-Star break) recently landing on the injured list, and Jordan Montgomery still trying to find his way with the D-backs, a Rodriguez resurgence could go a long way to getting Arizona back to the postseason after a surprise World Series run last fall.

It¡¯s been a long road to this point since Rodriguez signed a four-year, $80 million contract with the D-backs last offseason. But a turnaround has to start somewhere, and if this is that place, it couldn¡¯t come at a better time for Arizona.

¡°I was sitting back and watching everybody play, and now that I¡¯m back here, I¡¯ve just been kind of grinding the last couple starts,¡± Rodriguez said. ¡°To be available to go out there and feel great about all my pitches and everything. ¡­ To be out there and executing, it was great.¡±

Rodriguez didn¡¯t have to worry about run support. He got all he needed by the second inning. The D-backs scored three times in each of the first two frames, then tacked on three more in the ninth.

Corbin Carroll launched a pair of homers -- a 438-foot solo shot in the first inning off the second deck in right-center field and a two-run laser over the wall in right in the second.

With his first homer, Carroll became the fifth player in D-backs history to have multiple 20-homer/20-steal seasons, joining Chris Young (three), Paul Goldschmidt (two), Justin Upton (two) and Eric Byrnes (two). Carroll, who has 29 steals this year, also became the 11th player in AL/NL history to have multiple 20-20 seasons by his age-23 campaign.

For Carroll, whose season got off to a rough start after an NL Rookie of the Year campaign in 2023, reaching 20-20 means a lot.

¡°Given the way the season started out, I think if you asked me in the middle of the season if this was possible, it definitely wasn¡¯t on my mind,¡± he said.

Carroll¡¯s first-inning blast set the tone for an offensive awakening. Had the lineup remained punchless for three days in the mile-high altitude of Denver, the flight to Milwaukee for four games against the Brewers as the regular season enters its final 10 days would have been pensive.

¡°I think getting swept here would not have been what we were thinking coming into Colorado,¡± Carroll said. ¡°But just finding a way to win this one and move on is good.¡±

The D-backs (84-68) now move on to what could very well be a photo finish in the NL Wild Card race. They are tied with the Mets (84-68) for the second Wild Card spot, two games ahead of the Braves (82-70).

Arizona knows that when it comes to the postseason, you can win it if you get in it.

¡°If you were to tell me in Spring Training that we¡¯d be in the position we¡¯re in with 10 games to go, I¡¯d sign up for that every single time,¡± Lovullo said. ¡°We know what we need to get done inside our dugout, inside our clubhouse.

¡°I don¡¯t want to rely on anybody else. I want to do it the D-back way.¡±