MLB Baseball
2026-09-24 - Arizona Diamondbacks at Colorado Rockies
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : Major League Baseball
Thursday 24th September 2026 - Scheduled 3:10pm EST
3:10pm (British Time)
Preview
Less than a handful of days remain in the regular season and the Arizona Diamondbacks (84-74) have been left with very little wiggle room in the bid to earn a spot in the post-season. Four games remain, but the Diamondbacks are 3 games out of the Wild Card spots in the tough National League and that means they need to win out and hope others can do them a favour.
They play before the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres on Thursday as the Diamondbacks look to wrap up a sweep over the Colorado Rockies (57-101). Anything less than a win would mean Arizona could be eliminated before the last regular season series begins on Friday, but a win coupled with a loss for the Padres at the Los Angeles Dodgers would mean the Diamondbacks would earn a spot in the Playoff if they sweep the upcoming series with San Diego.
Thinking about the permutations would give anyone a bit of a headache and so the focus for the Arizona Diamondbacks is simply winning on Thursday and seeing how the situation has developed when travelling to the Padres for the last series.
With that in mind, the Diamondbacks will hand the ball to Eduardo Rodriguez who is looking to bounce back from a rough outing against the New York Yankees. Eduardo Rodriguez does have a 15-7 record and 2.89 ERA in his thirty-one starts in 2026 and is likely to be an option out of the bullpen if the game on Sunday still matters.
The numbers are set to be the best of his Major League career, but Eduardo Rodriguez has taken the decision loss in three of the four starts made in September. A lack of run support has not helped, but neither has the fact that Rodriguez has allowed at least three runs in all of those decision losses and barely cleared 5 Innings in those outings.
He has a 0-1 record and 2.19 ERA from two starts against the Colorado Rockies this season, but Eduardo Rodriguez has to take encouragement from the runs Arizona have been able to score in the first two games of this series.
The Rockies have had another miserable season and are the only team going into the final weekend with at least 100 losses on the record.
Colorado will hand the ball to Tanner Gordon who has a 1-5 record and 6.01 ERA in his twenty-three appearances in 2026 of which eleven have been in starts. The pitcher has not made as many starts as he did last season, but the Rockies have given Gordon an opportunity and this will be his seventh start in a row.
In the previous six starts, Tanner Gordon has a 1-2 record and 7.14 ERA, while he has struggled in September with the three starts covering just shy of 12 Innings. Tanner Gordon lasted 3 Innings when knocked around for seven runs by the San Diego Padres in his most recent start, but he is facing the Arizona Diamondbacks for the first time in 2026.
Last season Tanner Gordon faced the Diamondbacks twice and finished with a 1-1 record and a 12.10 ERA, although the game at home was the one in which he earned the decision win.
Losing a series to the Colorado Rockies at home in August will be something the fans will find hard to forget if the Diamondbacks do miss out on the Playoffs. However, Arizona's two wins in this series means they have won eight of the twelve regular season games played between these National League West rivals.
Prediction
It has not been a productive month for either of the starting pitchers heading to the mound, but the Arizona Diamondbacks can find enough Offensive output to secure another win in this penultimate series and another by at least two runs.
The Pick :
Colorado Rockies 3-6 Arizona Diamondbacks
