The Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks have fallen out of the playoff chase in advance of their late-season series at Denver, yet both have made an impact on the postseason of late.
The Rockies (59-79) dealt a blow to the Milwaukee Brewers chances of reaching the postseason by taking two of three games in a series this week. The team the Brewers are chasing in the wild-card race, the San Diego Padres, won two of three from the Diamondbacks (65-71).
The Rockies will attempt to take steps toward getting out of last place in the National League West, but they are seven games behind the Diamondbacks with less than a month remaining in the regular season.
The series opener is Friday, with the Diamondbacks sending right-hander Zach Davies (2-4, 3.74 ERA) to the mound against Rockies right-hander German Marquez (8-10, 4.86).
Both teams had a day off Thursday ahead of the final series against one another this season. The teams have split their 16 meetings evenly this year.
The Diamondbacks' Daulton Varsho enters on a red-hot stretch. He slugged two home runs in Wednesday's loss at San Diego and is hitting .341 with seven home runs and eight RBIs in his last 12 games.
"I think he can carry a ballclub," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "We've seen him do that pretty much for the second half of last year, right? When he gets hot, he's a very dangerous hitter. He's always working.
"That's the thing that stands out and impresses me the most. He's never satisfied. He always wants to be the best version of himself. And he's got a good feeling right now. Everything is timed up, everything is in a good spot and he's attacking the baseball right away."
Davies is 4-3 with a 3.75 ERA in 12 career starts against Colorado, while his season he has a 1.65 ERA in three starts (16 1/3 innings) against the Rockies.
Marquez is making his fourth start against Arizona this season but the first at home; he is 1-1 with 3.32 ERA in his three starts at Chase Field.
Marquez's 22 career appearances (21 starts) against the D-backs are his most against any one team. He is 6-6 with a 3.88 ERA against them.
Marquez has been a workhorse of late, going at least six innings in his last 11 starts, going back to July 5. In his last 10 starts, he is 4-3 with a 3.39 ERA, which includes outdueling the New York Mets' Max Scherzer in a 1-0 Colorado win on Aug. 28.
In his last outing, during the first game of a doubleheader at Cincinnati on Sunday, he allowed just two runs over seven innings to get the win, while flashing his All-Star form from 2021.
"I think the key is I'm hitting my spots," Marquez said. "When my fastball location is good, everything is good. I feel like my focus is good."
More must-reads: