With just 18 games remaining, the Colorado Rockies are gearing up for what could be a push for the postseason in 2020.
While the Rockies slipped below .500 Tuesday night after losing back-to-back games versus the San Diego Padres, they are still within striking distance of a spot in the postseason.
Thanks to Major League Baseball, the postseason was expanded to eight teams in each league, giving the Rockies a fighting chance to make the second season despite their subpar play.
In a traditional 162 game season, the Rockies would not sniff the postseason with the way they have played this year, but a hot start and a shortened season have kept their chances at the postseason alive.
As it stands, the Rockies are 2.5 games out of a postseason spot and will look to improve their play down the stretch to try and force their way into the playoffs.
Colorado is just 3-7 in their last 10 games, although they did manage to take two of three from the Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend, which has helped keep their season on life support.
Still, making the postseason will be a challenging task for the Rockies this season, despite the current standings.
The team has struggled to play consistent baseball. It seems like whenever the offense decides to score a bunch of runs, the pitching fails to record outs. When the pitching is on point, the offense is unable rise to the occasion, as we have seen over the last two games in San Diego.
Additionally, the Rockies are down some key players in Scott Oberg, Jon Gray, David Dahl and Wade Davis. Colorado is looking up at teams like the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, and Miami Marlins in the Wild Card standings.
The Rockies still need to finish their series against the Padres before returning home for a critical nine-game homestand against the Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics and Dodgers, which will likely define the season.
After 40+ games, the Rockies have played well enough to give themselves a chance at the postseason. Now, let’s see if they can figure out a way to sharpen up and play solid ball down the stretch.
The Rockies will wrap up their series with the Padres Wednesday night, with Antonio Senzatela set to take the mound out for Colorado. Senzatela Will look to build off his last start, where he limited the Dodgers to two runs over 5 1/3 innings. Senzatela hurled seven scoreless frames his last time out against San Diego.