National League Wild Card Chances: Rockies, Brewers Fight For Final Playoff Spot

Heading into the final weekend of the 2017 MLB regular season, almost every playoff spot is set in stone. Nine of the 10 postseason teams are known with the exception of the second National League Wild-Card winner.

The race has come down to the Colorado Rockies and Milwaukee Brewers. With a two-game lead and three games left on the schedule, Colorado has a 93.3 percent chance to get into the playoffs, according to ESPN. The winner will go on to visit the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL Wild-Card Game Wednesday night.

Colorado starts a three-game series at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday night. Facing the team that has the best record in baseball could actually turn out to be a blessing for the Rockies.

L.A. has little to play for this weekend. The Dodgers have already clinched home-field advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs, and they have a two-game lead over the Cleveland Indians in an attempt to guarantee themselves home-field advantage in the World Series. Before winning their last four games against two of the league’s worst teams, Los Angeles had seemingly checked out, losing 21 of 28 games with the NL’s No.1 seed already in hand.

The Rockies have two legitimate MVP candidates, and one of them could potentially take a step closer toward winning the award by having a big weekend and leading Colorado into the playoffs. Outfielder Charlie Blackmon is hitting .328 and is a virtual lock to win the batting title. Third baseman Nolan Arenado is tied for the MLB lead with 129 RBI and sits in 11th place in the NL with a .305 batting average. Both players are tied for third in the NL with 36 home runs.

Milwaukee goes on the road to face a division rival and the team most recently eliminated from playoff contention. The St. Louis Cardinals are two games behind the Brewers, falling out of the race with five losses in their last six games.

The Brewers no longer control their own destiny after alternating wins and losses in their last six games. Their opponent truly has nothing on the line, unless St. Louis takes the role of spoiler seriously.

In the event of a tie, the teams would face off in a one-game playoff in Colorado. The Rockies won four of their seven head-to-head matchups with the Brewers this season. Colorado took three out of four games against Milwaukee in the first series of the year at Coors Field.

Either team will be the underdog in a one-game playoff against the Diamondbacks, who will send perennial Cy Young candidate Zach Greinke to the mound. But just being in contention for a postseason berth in the final weekend might be considered an accomplishment for both teams.

The Rockies weren’t expected to have a very good season, ending spring training with 40/1 World Series odds and a projected win total of 80.5. Considering the Brewers had 200/1 odds to win the World Series and an over/under of 71.5 victories, they were among the teams predicted to finish with the worst record in baseball.

Colorado hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2009 when they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in four games in the NLDS. Milwaukee reached the 2011 NLCS, where they lost in six games to St. Louis, and they haven’t reached the postseason since.