The Rockies get one last run at Coors Field on Thursday, and it comes with the season already deep into ugly territory. Colorado is wrapping up its final home game of 2026 against the Arizona Diamondbacks before heading to Chicago for the last three games on the schedule.
At 57-101, the Rockies are coming off losses in the first two games of the series, a stretch that sealed yet another 100-loss season. Arizona arrives at 84-74 with real pressure attached, sitting three games behind the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Wild Card race with four games left.
Wednesday night was the kind of game Colorado spent most of the evening trying to dig out of. Arizona struck for four runs in the first inning, highlighted by Corbin Carroll’s two-run triple, though Mason Adams’ line will show all four runs as unearned. Adams steadied himself from there, retiring 13 straight batters and finishing with eight strikeouts over six innings.
The Rockies did at least put up a fight. Adael Amador knocked in a run with an RBI double in the second, Hunter Goodman added a sacrifice fly in the third, and Ezequiel Tovar kept things interesting with another homer in the eighth. Colorado had runners on second and third in the ninth before Tovar popped out to end it.
Now the club gets one more chance to send the home crowd off with a win - and maybe land a blow to a division rival’s postseason chase.
First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. MT at Coors Field.
Gordon will start for Colorado, carrying a 1-5 record, 6.01 ERA and 84 strikeouts. Arizona counters with Eduardo Rodriguez, who comes in at 15-7 with a 2.89 ERA and 140 strikeouts.
With the finish line in sight, Warren Schaeffer and the Rockies are using these final games to take a hard look at pieces that could matter in 2027 and beyond. Goodman is moving from catcher to designated hitter, while Sullivan is behind the plate and batting seventh.
Norby is back in the lineup at second base and hitting second. Carrigg stays in center field, Karros gets more reps at third, and Beck takes over in right.
Goodman also has a personal milestone within reach. He’s one home run away from 40, a mark that hasn’t been reached since 2019.
In Other News...
Ezequiel Tovar Has One Big Offseason Problem To Fix
Ezequiel Tovars season finished with enough late progress to leave the Rockies encouraged, even if the overall picture was still uneven. Over his final 39 games, the young shortstop showed improvement at the plate after a difficult year, and now his offseason is built around turning that stretch into something more sustainable. The work is already underway, with Tovar focusing on both physical and mental training as he looks for a cleaner offensive foundation.
A big part of the plan is sharpening his swing decisions, something he is tackling with Rockies third-base coach Andy Gonzalez in Puerto Rico. Tovars issue was clear enough during the season: too often, he chased pitches outside the strike zone and put himself in bad counts. The challenge now is turning targeted practice into better judgment, because for a player with his talent, the difference between a promising step forward and a full breakout may come down to a better approach pitch by pitch. [Read more 🡒]