Both Wild Card teams are from the West in the National League as the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks earned their way into the one-game playoff. The game will take place in Arizona since the Diamondbacks (93-69) finished with a better record than the Rockies (87-75).
Both teams showed vast improvement from the 2016 season. The Rockies finished 75-87 and the Diamondbacks were 69-93 last season, 10 and 16 games out of the Wild Card Game respectively. This is the first time since 2009 that Colorado has reached the playoffs, and it will be Arizona's first taste of postseason action since 2011.
How the Diamondbacks got here
Led by Zach Greinke and Robbie Ray, the Diamondbacks starting pitchers were superb all season. The 3.62 ERA they received from their starters this season was fourth-best in the majors. That's more than a run and a half better than their starters 5.19 ERA in 2016. Greinke, Ray, Taijuan Walker, and Zack Godley all started at least 25 games with sub-3.50 ERAs.
First baseman Paul Goldschmidt is once again a National League MVP candidate, but he received more help on offense from players like Jake Lamb, A.J. Pollock, David Peralta, and especially J.D. Martinez. He was acquired via trade from the Detroit Tigers on July 18. All he did in his 62 games with Arizona is finish with 29 home runs and 65 RBIs.
Veteran closer Fernando Rodney pitched much better after the All-Star break, but Arizona saw outstanding results by moving Archie Bradley from the starting rotation to the bullpen. In 2016, he struggled to the tune of a 5.02 ERA in 26 starts. He appeared in 63 games this year out of the bullpen and finished with a 1.73 ERA.
How the Rockies got here
The Rockies have taken advantage of playing their home games at the high altitude of Coors Field for years, but they finished over .500 on the road at 41-40 this year. In 2016, they went 33-48 in away games. The only other time in franchise history they had a winning record on the road was in 2009 (last time they made the playoffs) when they also went 41-40.
The offense has been led by two players who figure to be near the top of National League MVP voting, third baseman Nolan Arenado and center fielder Charlie Blackmon. Blackmon set a new MLB record for most RBIs as a leadoff hitter in a season and batted .331 with 37 home runs. Arenado is largely seen as the best defensive third baseman in the majors and he also batted .309 on the year with 37 home runs and 130 RBIs.
Colorado actually finished near the middle of the pack in the National League with the ninth-best team ERA at 4.51. That's four-tenths of a run better than their 4.91 ERA in 2016 which ranked 13th out of 15 National League teams. They finished last in the National League in ERA in the four previous seasons from 2012-2015.
Zach Greinke
Greinke will take the mound for Arizona to start the Wild Card Game on Wednesday. He signed a six-year/$147 million contract with the Diamondbacks and followed that with a 4.37 ERA in 26 starts in his first year with Arizona in 2016. This year, the 2009 American League Cy Young winner provided more of what was expected of him as he was named to his fourth All-Star Game.
He started 32 games this season and finished with a 17-7 record with a 3.20 ERA. His ERA was fifth-best in the National League, his 1.07 WHIP ranked fourth, and his 215 strikeouts were the fifth-most. Greinke was dominant this season at Chase Field. In 18 starts at his home park, he went 13-1 with a 2.87 ERA. His WHIP was under one (0.96) and he struck out 10.2 hitters per nine innings.
Jon Gray
The 25-year-old Gray will get the start for the Rockies on Wednesday. The third overall selection in the 2013 June Amateur Draft has pitched well for Colorado this year, especially since August. Overall on the season, Gray went 10-4 with a 3.67 ERA in 20 starts. Since the calendar turned to August, he started 11 games and went 7-2 with a 2.44 ERA. He allowed just four home runs in those 11 starts and held opposing hitters to a .288 on-base percentage. Surprisingly, Gray has better numbers at Coors Field compared to on the road. In eight home starts he has a 3.13 ERA, compared to his 4.06 ERA in 12 away starts.
Season series
The two National League West clubs met 19 times during the regular season with the Diamondbacks winning 11 of the head-to-head matchups.
They split the 10 games that took place in Arizona. Greinke made five starts against the Rockies this year, going 2-1 with a 3.41 ERA. Three of those starts came in Arizona where he pitched 20 innings, gave up seven runs, and struck out 23. Gray made three starts against Arizona this year, going 2-1 with a 3.50 ERA. His two starts at Chase Field both resulted in wins as he struck out 10 hitters in both games.
