Diamondbacks Open Final Road Trip in Colorado With Wild-Card Hopes on the Line

Arizona began a three-game series at Coors Field on Tuesday needing a near-perfect finish to stay in the National League wild-card race.

The Arizona Diamondbacks opened their final road trip of the regular season Tuesday, Sept. 22, against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, trailing by four games in the National League wild-card chase. Arizona sat four games behind the Philadelphia Phillies and five behind both the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres with six contests remaining.

Manager Torey Lovullo said the team's approach is to focus on the day-to-day work rather than the standings. He added that the club knows it likely needs to win out, but he prefers to concentrate on winning each game as it comes.

Ketel Marte, who has often sat out games in Colorado for health reasons, started as the designated hitter, with Lovullo planning to use him on defense in the final two games of the series. Corbin Burnes is lined up to pitch Saturday, Sept. 26, at San Diego, and Lovullo said the right-hander feels strong after a long recovery from elbow surgery and a follow-up injury.

Catcher Gabriel Moreno entered Tuesday having played 126 of Arizona's 157 games, setting career highs in several categories including hits, home runs and RBIs. Lovullo said Moreno will likely catch five of the last six games and serve as designated hitter in the other one.

Tuesday's pitching matchup featured Arizona right-hander Michael Soroka (8-5, 3.45 ERA) against Colorado left-hander Kyle Freeland (4-10, 6.38), whose contract expires after the season, potentially making it his final home start for the Rockies. First pitch was set for 5:40 p.m. on Cox, Ch. 34.