The Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers went to the final day of the regular season and will now push it to its limit on Monday with Game 163 at Dodger Stadium to determine a National League West champion.
First pitch is set for 1:09 p.m. PT, with the game being broadcast exclusively on ESPN. The loser of the game will still have their postseason hopes alive by virtue of occupying the second spot in the Wild Card Game on Tuesday.
That the scenario would come to fruition became more of a reality on Saturday when the Dodgers defeated the San Francisco Giants, and the Rockies fell to the Washington Nationals. However, both teams then held serve Sunday, outscoring their opponents a combined 27-0, to remain tied atop the NL West standings at 91-71.
Colorado closed out the regular season on a 9-1 run, buoyed by series sweeps of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies. Those came on the heels of being swept at Dodger Stadium, which put the Rockies 2.5 games back of first place.
After dropping two of three to the Diamondbacks, the Dodgers responded with their first sweep at AT&T Park since July 25-27, 2014. Saturday’s victory eliminated the St. Louis Cardinals from postseason contention and secured a berth for themselves a sixth straight year.
That extended the Dodgers’ franchise record for consecutive postseason appearances, and winning the NL West would do their same for that streak which began in 2013.
This year’s NL West champion will host the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the NL Division Series on Thursday.
