Two of the biggest surprises in Major League Baseball will face off when the Arizona Diamondbacks host the Colorado Rockies. Both weren’t expected to compete for the postseason but they are right in the mix. This is an important series for each side as they jockey for position in the ultra-competitive National League West.
The Diamondbacks recently passed the Rockies in the standings and have the more talented roster. Add in the home field advantage, and Arizona should be considered the favorite in this series.
This series will be contested from Friday, June 30 through Sunday, July 2, 2017 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. Friday’s and Sunday’s matchups will be broadcast on MLB Network.
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Pitching Matchups
The Rockies will begin the series by sending Jon Gray to the hill. He has been on the disabled list for a couple months but will return for this one. He is one of the most talented arms on the team and has a 0-0 record with a 4.38 ERA in three starts this season. It’s a tough first start back against a talented D-Backs offense. Arizona will counter with breakout star Robbie Ray. He is 8-3 on the year with a 2.87 ERA and has struck out 119 batters in 94 innings.
In the second game, Colorado is scheduled to start Tyler Chatwood. He is 6-8 with a 4.32 ERA, which is an excellent mark considering the Rockies play half their games in the hitter’s paradise of Coors Field. The Diamondbacks will send out their ace, Zack Greinke, who is 9-4 with a 3.08 ERA. Greinke has a fantastic strikeout-to-walk ratio and remains one of the best hurlers in the game.
In the series finale the Rockies will send out German Marquez. He is 5-4 with a 4.38 ERA and only allowed one run in six innings against the D-Backs last week. Taijuan Walker will get the call for Arizona. He is 6-3 with a 3.50 ERA and has impressive stuff.
Key Stat
Three. That’s the number of teams from the N.L. West currently on pace to reach the playoffs. The Diamondbacks are on track to claim the first wild card spot and the Rockies the second.
While both teams have been among the best in the National League this year, the Dodgers have been even better. The playoffs are in sight, but both teams would love to capture the division and make it an easier path to a World Series push,as the wild card teams must play each other in a one-game series.
Heading into this series, the Dodgers have a two-game lead over the Diamondbacks and Arizona is three games ahead of Colorado.
The Rockies’ Slide
Colorado enters this series in the midst of its longest losing streak of the season, having lost the last eight games in a row heading into Friday’s matchup. Two of those eight losses were at the hands of the Diamondbacks who beat the Rockies twice in a three-game series earlier this month.
The Rockies have shown they’re capable of beating the Diamondbacks this year, however, and this would be a great time to turn things around. Colorado is still very much in the hunt to win the division.
Colorado was swept by the Dodgers and Giants in back-to-back series coming into this weekend. They were beaten pretty handily by the Dodgers who shut them out completely in one game and put up 12 runs on the Rockies in another, but the Rockies managed to keep things much closer against San Francisco. While the Rockies aren’t a great team, they have proven to be pretty good, and would love to steal two wins in Arizona.
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