Handicapper's Guide: Headed Down the Stretch in the NL West

The Rockies head into the final 24 days of the 2018 regular season in full control of their own destiny. They are in first place in the NL West, 1 1/2 games up on the second-place Dodgers, with 23 games remaining on their schedule.

Big deal?

Most Recent Division Titles

Season Team
2017 Astros Indians Red Sox
Cubs Dodgers Nationals
2016 Rangers Royals
2015 Mets Blue Jays
Cardinals Orioles Tigers
2014 Angels
2013 Braves Yankees Giants
Giants A's
2012 Reds D-backs Phillies
2011 Brewers Rays
2010 Twins
2008 Padres
2005 White Sox
2001 Mariners
1992 Pirates

You bet.

They are assured of waking up Saturday morning, 140 games into the season, in first place, which will be the latest (in terms of games played) they have ever been in first place. It's a step toward the possibility of winning the first division title in franchise history.

The irony is, there are only two teams to have never won a division title -- the Rockies and their expansion cousin Marlins. The Marlins have advanced to the post-season twice (and there won't be a third time is the charm this year) but did win the World Series both times. The Rockies have claimed a wild-card spot four times, and while they did advance to the World Series in 2007, they were swept by the Red Sox.

Since the Marlins and Rockies began play in 1993, there is only one other team that has not won a division title -- the Pirates, who last won a division in 1992, which was their third in a row in a stretch in which they were eliminated in the NLDS each time.

THE ROCKIES DO control their own destiny. Their 23 remain games include six against the Dodgers, who are in second place, 1 1/2 games back, and seven the Diamondbacks, in third place, two games back.

They have six of their final 23 games against a team with a losing record -- three at San Francisco, and a season-ending three-game series against the Nationals at Coors Field.

They play 14 of their final 23 games at home, the exception being a nine-game road trip that begins next weekend with three games each at the Giants, Dodgers and D-backs.

THE DODGERS PLAY 16 of their final 22 games on the road, the exception being a six-game homestand against the Padres and Diamondbacks Sept. 21-26 before a season-ending three-game series at the Giants.

Friday they embark on a 10-game road trip to Colorado, Cincinnati and St. Louis. They do have nine games remaining with teams that have losing records, but six of those games are on the road -- three each at Cincinnati and San Francisco.

THE DIAMONDBACKS BEGAN a stretch of playing 20 of their final 23 games against teams with losing records, losing the first game of that stretch at home to the Braves 7-6 in 10 innings. They do finish the season with three at San Diego.

They have 10 games remaining with their NL West competition -- seven against the Rockies, including a four-game visit to Coors Field starting on Monday, and three against the Dodgers at home Sept. 24-26.

They do have 12 of their final 22 at home -- playing three at Colorado next week, three at Houston next weekend, and those three in San Diego to conclude the 162-game schedule.

The Road to the NL West Title

Date Rockies Dodgers Diamondbacks
Friday vs. Dodgers at Rockies vs. Braves
Saturday vs. Dodgers at Rockies vs. Braves
Sunday vs. Dodgers at Rockies vs. Braves
Monday vs. D-backs at Reds at Rockies
Tuesday vs. D-backs at Reds at Rockies
Wednesday vs. D-backs at Reds at Rockies
Thursday vs. D-backs at Cardinals at Rockies
Sept. 14 at Giants at Cardinals at Astros
Sept. 15 at Giants at Cardinals at Astros
Sept. 16 at Giants at Cardinals at Astros
Sept. 17 at Dodgers vs. Rockies vs. Cubs
Spet. 18 at Dodgers vs. Rockies vs. Cubs
Sept. 19 at Dodgers vs. Rockies vs. Cubs
Sept. 20 Off Off Off
Sept. 21 at D-backs vs. Padres vs. Rockies
Sept. 22 at D-backs vs. Padres vs. Rockies
Sept. 23 at D-backs vs. Padres vs. Rockies
Sept. 24 vs. Phillies at D-backs vs. Dodgers
Sept. 25 vs. Phillies at D-backs vs. Dodgers
Sept. 26 vs. Phillies at D-backs vs. Dodgers
Sept. 27 vs. Phillies Off Off
Sept. 28 vs. Nationals at Giants at Padres
Sept. 29 vs. Nationals at Giants at Padres
Sept. 30 vs. Nationals at Giants at Padres

A factor in the Rockies favor is they play 17 of those final 23 games at home. They did struggle at Coors Field early in the season, but their season began to turn around on June 28, when after falling eight games below .500 and into fourth place in the NL West, they won at San Francisco and then took two of three at Dodger Stadium.

They reutrned home on July 2 and regained that home-field advantage. Dating back to that afternoon at AT&T Park against the Giants, the Rockies have the best home-field record in the National League.

Home, Sweet Home (Finally)

Season Since June 28
Team W L Pct Team W L Pct
Cubs 44 24 0.647 Rockies 39 20 0.661
Phillies 43 26 0.623 Cubs 40 22 0.645
Brewers 42 27 0.609 Cardinals 36 25 0.59
Dodgers 39 36 0.52 Dodgers 33 28 0.541
Giants 39 30 0.565 Brewers 33 29 0.532
Pirates 38 34 0.528 Braves 32 29 0.525
Braves 37 34 0.521 Pirates 31 29 0.517
Rockies 37 30 0.552 Mets 31 30 0.508
Cardinals 37 31 0.544 Phillies 31 30 0.508
D-backs 36 33 0.522 D-backs 29 31 0.483
Nationals 35 36 0.493 Nationals 28 35 0.444
Marlins 34 41 0.453 Giants 26 34 0.433
Reds 32 38 0.457 Reds 25 36 0.41
Mets 28 40 0.412 Marlins 24 35 0.407
Padres 27 45 0.375 Padres 20 39 0.339

The Diamondbacks are in third place, but based off the success they have had this season against their remaining opponents, they cannot be overlooked. While they are 33-22 against the teams remaining on their schedule, the Rockies are 26-23, and the Dodgers, in addition to facing the challenge of the road, are 33-35 against their remaining opponents.

Rockies vs. W-L Dodgers W-L D-Backs W-L
Dodgers 6-7 Rockies 7-6 Braves 2-2
D-backs 5-7 Reds 0-4 Rockies 7-5
Giants 11-5 Cardinals 0-3 Astros 2-1
Phillies 1-2 Padres 12-4 Cubs 2-2
Nationals 3-1 D-backs 7-9 Dodgers 9-7
Total 26-23 Giants 7-9 Padres 11-5
Total 33-35 Total 33-22
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