The Arizona Diamondbacks had a golden chance to gain ground in the National League Wild Card race on Tuesday night. Instead, they watched it evaporate in extra innings.

Esteury Ruiz ripped a two-out, bases-clearing double to left-center in the 11th inning, and the Miami Marlins snuck out of Chase Field with a 4-2 win that stung far more than a typical September loss. Earlier in the evening, the San Diego Padres had lost to Colorado, handing Arizona a rare opening to shrink the gap for the final playoff spot. The D-backs couldn't cash it in.

With the bases loaded and two outs, reliever Taylor Clarke fell behind Ruiz, who drove a sinker deep enough to score Otto Lopez, Jared Serna and Kyle Stowers in one swing, according to the official box score. It was just the fifth hit of the night for a Marlins lineup that had otherwise gone quiet against Arizona's bullpen.

A missed chance Arizona can't afford

Gabriel Moreno had given the Diamondbacks an early jolt with a 431-foot solo homer in the first inning, part of a night in which he also singled, walked twice, stole a base and threw out two Marlins baserunners. Griffin Conine answered for Miami with a solo shot of his own in the fourth, setting up a taut, low-scoring battle that Arizona's offense couldn't finish — the D-backs stranded 15 runners and went just 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

The Diamondbacks remained 2½ games back for the final NL Wild Card spot, with only 10 games left to make up the difference.

That's the number that will keep Arizona fans up at night. A win Tuesday, paired with San Diego's loss, would have pulled the D-backs within a game and a half of the postseason with real momentum. Instead they're clinging to the same margin they've carried for days, chasing the Padres, Phillies and Cubs with the schedule running out.

It's the second straight nail-biter between these two clubs — Arizona had stolen a wild finish of its own a night earlier on a walk-off homer from Corbin Carroll, per MLB.com's coverage of the series. Tuesday flipped the script entirely, and the Diamondbacks now head into the season's final stretch needing help and a lot less late-inning heartbreak of their own making.

Miami, playing spoiler with nothing but pride on the line, improved to a surprising thorn in the side of contenders down the stretch — exactly the kind of team no fringe playoff club wants on its schedule in mid-September.