As the Los Angeles Dodgers have reigned supreme over the National League West, the remainder of the division has cycled through teams that pose the biggest threat to unseat them. Last season, it was the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies who both occupied first place for several weeks.
The Dodgers eventually found their footing, overcoming a horrendous 16-24 start to the season. The Diamondbacks eventually faded from the top of the NL West standings, but the Rockies proved to be a valiant opponent.
Though, Colorado’s struggles to finish out the 2018 season led to playing a Game 163 against the Dodgers. It was played at Dodger Stadium, and the Dodgers went on to win their sixth consecutive NL West title. The Rockies settled for a berth — and eventual win — in the Wild Card Game.
There doesn’t appear to be more late-season drama ahead this season as the Dodgers have already opened up a nine-game lead in the division. That prompted Nolan Arenado to jokingly predict the Dodgers will not lose moving forward and therefore the Rockies can’t concern themselves with them, per Nick Groke of The Athletic
“We can’t worry about the Dodgers. They’re probably never gonna lose again. We just have to deal with that. We just have to do our jobs.”
While there is a sizable gap in the NL West standings, the Rockies recently completed a sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays and have won eight in a row. A 9-1 record was good for the best 10-game homestand at Coors Field since 2009.
Their biggest issue was a 3-12 start to the season, which included getting swept by the Dodgers in the Opening Series at Coors Field.
That stretched into an eight-game losing streak as the Rockies dropped subsequent matchups with the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants. Since snapping that skid on April 14, Colorado went an impressive 28-12 yet remained outside of the NL Wild Card Game.
Colorado’s 28 wins trailed only L.A.’s 33 for most in the NL during that stretch. Unfortunately for the Rockies, their hot stretch has since been followed by a loss and falling further behind the Dodgers in the NL West standings.
As they await other teams to potentially slow L.A., the Rockies will get an opportunity to do so themselves when they begin a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Friday, June 21.
