Colorado Rockies: Who would they want to play in the Wild Card?

On Tuesday night, the Colorado Rockies took a half-game lead of the second Wild Card spot with their 10-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals’ 12-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Colorado Rockies also moved within a half-game of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League West after they lost 4-3 on a walk-off home run by the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Eduardo Escobar in the ninth.

But as the Rockies try to solidify their spot in the playoffs, there is another important race to keep a close eye on: the NL Central. The Brewers have now moved only a half-game back of the division-leading Chicago Cubs as they have won three games in a row while the Cubs have dropped their last two contests.

This is getting way ahead of myself with five games left in the season … but if the Rockies can’t overtake the Dodgers in the West but win the final Wild Card, who would they rather face: the Cubs or the Brewers?

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The Rockies have not fair well against either of the two teams this season. They are 2-5 against the Brewers and 3-3 against the Cubs but also haven’t faced either of them in quite some time. They haven’t seen the Cubs since May and the Brewers since early August, so you can likely throw those records out the window.

Both teams have legitimate MVP candidates with Javier Baez and Christian Yelich. Yelich may have solidified his MVP candidacy on Tuesday night by hitting his 33rd home run while logging six RBI (giving him 104 on the season) but, nevertheless, they are both very dangerous hitters.

Their offensive lineups are also very comparable as the are ranked sixth and seventh in the National League in runs scored but the Cubs offense has slumped in September.

Their pitching numbers are also very similar. They are in the NL top five of pitching ERA and, more importantly, they have the top two bullpen ERAs. However, the Cubs are dealing with some injuries on the back end as their closer Brandon Morrow is out of the season and Pedro Strop just returned from the DL with a meniscus tear.

The biggest question will be, who would be the possible starters for the Wild Card game on Tuesday night? For the Cubs, depending on days rest, they would likely roll out either Jon Lester or Kyle Hendricks to the hill for the win-or-go-home game. As of today, former Rockie Jhoulys Chacin looks to be in line for the start for Milwaukee as he is their number one starter and he would be on five days rest.

Finally, where would the Rockies want to play … Miller Park or the friendly confines of Wrigley Field? The Brew Crew have a 48-30 record at home while the Cubs are sitting at 47-29.

So here is your chance. Who would you rather play? Vote and leave comments.

Of course, the Rockies need to continue to take care of their own business to make any of this matter. Plus, they have their sights set on the much bigger prize of their first-ever division title … but it is something to think about over the coming days.