Few things in the MLB are more interesting than a playoff race. Especially when two teams are fighting for a berth with only a few games left on the schedule.
That’s exactly what will happen in the NL this season. With three games left on the calendar, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Colorado Rockies are bound to determine which team will reach the NL Wild Card Game. The Arizona Diamondbacks already clinched their birth a few days ago as well.
Let’s remember the rest of the playoff field in the NL is set. The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the top spot, while the Washington Nationals and the Chicago Cubs ended second and third, respectively. These two clubs will meet in the NLDS in a five-game series. But let’s go back to the Wild Card race. It’s quite interesting, although Colorado still has the edge in the standings.
Before Friday’s action, Colorado has an 86-73 record while Milwaukee sits two games back with an 84-75 mark. In other words: buckle up, folks. This is going down to the wire. But which team has an easier path to facing Arizona in a do-or-die elimination game?
Colorado will face Los Angeles Dodgers, and the pitching matchups are as follows:
Friday: Hyun-Jin Ryu vs Chad Bettis
Saturday: Clayton Kershaw vs German Marquez
Sunday: TBA vs TBA
On the other hand, Milwaukee will play against the St. Louis Cardinals. Here are the projected starters for those games:
Friday: Chase Anderson vs John Gant
Saturday: TBA vs Luke Weaver
Sunday: TBA vs Carlos Martinez
Not a lot of clarity for the final day of the season. But at least on paper, it seems Milwaukee have an easier path considering the opposition they will have against. The Cardinals have nothing to play for, and the Brewers have been quite good of late since they have a 5-5 mark in their last 10 games.
The Rockies, on the other hand, have a 4-6 mark over the last 10 and are facing one of the top teams in all of baseball in the Dodgers. Los Angeles has been far from impressive in September and rode an 11-game losing streak not too long ago.
But if we look at things from another perspective, we can see that Colorado have a two-game lead. Basically, they need to take two out of three to make it to the Wild Card. Or if we look at things differently, Milwaukee could lose two and in that scenario, it would not matter what would happen with the Rockies.
The only thing that’s clear is that each club has 27 innings left of baseball in their regular season. But if we use the rest of the year as a benchmark, then things will probably decide on Sunday.