The Colorado Rockies only have 17 games left in the 2026 season. If they played football that would constitute an entire season. Instead, because they play the marathon that is baseball, these final 17 games may seem inconsequential.
It’s true that the Rockies are eliminated from the playoff race, so in a sense, the remaining games are inconsequential. If we’re being honest with ourselves, though, the Rockies have been realistically eliminated from postseason contention for the past half decade, and
there have still been plenty of reasons to watch them play.
There may not be too many games left, but that doesn’t mean the final three weeks of the season won’t provide opportunity for some entertainment. Let’s take a look through the remaining schedule, series by series, to wring out every last inch of exciting baseball before the long offseason (and possible lockout) arrives.
The Detroit Tigers Series
I’m not going to lie: The existence of this series almost scuttled the premise of this entire article.
There’s very little specifically interesting about a late-season matchup between the Rockies and the Detroit Tigers. Both teams are outside of playoff contention, they aren’t division rivals, and the number of former Rockies on the Tigers is limited (unless you’re still a big Tyler Kinley fan).
The Tigers, while they may not have much connection to the current Rockies, do employ the clear frontrunner for American League Rookie of the Year. If the only baseball that you have time to watch is Rockies games, this series will be your one chance to see Tigers rookie shortstop Kevin McGonigle play before taking home the 2026 AL RoY award.
That being said, if you are afraid of how many times the broadcast booth may struggle to pronounce McGonigle, this would be the one series remaining that you wouldn’t be missing too much if you skipped.
The San Diego Padres Series
This four game series against the Padres is the Rockies best opportunity to play spoiler.
The Padres started off strong with an 18-7 April, struggled to stay around .500 in May through July, before turning things around with a 17-11 August. As things stand, the Padres are 78-68 just barely holding on to the third wild card spot in the National League with a half game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
They come to Denver hoping to keep their lead and reach the postseason for the fifth time in the past seven seasons. So far this year the Rockies have been beaten by the Padres in eight out of their nine games, making even a tie in this four-game set seem like a longshot. All that losing, however, would make it even more wonderful if the Rockies are able to eek out some wins against their division rival right at the end when it matters the most.
Besides, when these two teams play, anything can happen.
The Seattle Mariners Series
With their poor play since the All-Star break, it’s possible that by the start of this series, the Seattle Mariners will also be mathematically eliminated from the playoff hunt. Unlike the series against the Tigers, however, there are still some side stories to look forward to.
First and foremost, the Saturday game will feature the unveiling of Todd Helton’s statue outside Coors Field. As with the Larry Walker statue unveiling earlier in the year, Helton is expected to be in attendance for a pre-game ceremony. The club has not announced any other media appearances yet, but Walker was on the broadcast the night of his statue’s unveiling, so it seems likely that a similar appearance for Helton is in the cards.
Additionally, the final Friday home game of the season means one last chance to see the Rockies play in the pastel colors of their City Connect uniforms. The previous green City Connects were only in use for three seasons and 2027 will be the third year of the current generation. Given the uncertain status of the 2027 MLB season, it’s entirely possible this is one of the last chances to see the sunset inspired jerseys donned in game.
The Arizona Diamondbacks Series
As with the Padres series, this could be a chance for the Rockies to play spoiler in the playoff race. Unlike the Padres, I have never gotten the sense that most Rockies fans hold much ill will towards the Diamondbacks.
More importantly, we’ll all get to see Nolan Arenado who is potentially on the cusp of his third trip to the playoffs since leaving the Rockies before the 2021 season. Seeing Arenado playing meaningful baseball this late in the season should provide a wistful well meaning bit of nostalgia all by itself.
That being said, the current season series between the Rockies and Diamondbacks sits 4-6 D-Backs. A Rockies sweep of this three game set would push them ahead in the season series. The Rockies have already won their season series against the San Francisco Giants, adding a second NL West team that they were able to best would be a nice consolation prize at the end of another long season.
The Chicago White Sox Series
In 2026, the Rockies have shown progress towards righting the ship after an abysmal 119 losses last year. It has, however, shown that the climb back up to being a competitive team remains steep. Ending this transitional season against the breakout Chicago White Sox, and getting to see Brenton Doyle for the first time since his mid-season trade, is perfect.
The White Sox represent hope in the form of an example that it is possible to quickly become an exciting baseball team again after a historically bad season. Even if, by the time of this final regular season series, the White Sox have dropped out of the lead in the AL Central or even the wild card race, seeing the turnaround the franchise has made since their 121 losses in 2024 is exactly what we as Rockies fans need.
The energy in the southside of Chicago, win or lose, will be a preview of what’s possible for the Rockies within the next few seasons. It will be the perfect hopeful send-off for the 2026 Rockies into a pivotal and uncertain offseason.
On the Farm
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 8, Reno Aces 5
Jack Mahoney (No. 15 PuRP) started the game for the Isotopes and managed to get through four and two thirds innings with 87 pitches. Mahoney was pulled after allowing four runs on seven hits the final of which was a two-RBI line drive from Jose Fernandez. While it wasn’t a stellar performance on paper, given the running scoring environment of the Pacific Coast League and the fine performance from the Isotopes bullpen, it was enough to get the job done.
At the plate the Isotopes lineup took an early lead on an Edouard Julien two-run double in the first inning and continuously added to that lead throughout the rest of the game. All told the Isotopes scored in six separate innings on a whopping 13 hits and six walks. Five different Isotope hitters collected extra base hits but the star of the game were the aforementioned Julien, who reached base four times, and Sterlin Thompson (No. 16 PuRP) who was a triple shy of the cycle.
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 4, Somerset Patriots 0
Both Jose Quintana and Kyle Freeland set the tone for this game in rehab appearances. The Yard Goats as a whole followed their lead en route to their 65th win of the season.
Quintana started the game and threw two innings in which he only allowed a single and a walk. Freeland took over to start the third inning and threw three scoreless of his own. While Quintana only managed a single strikeout, Freeland collected five in his three innings of work. Connor Staine finished out the final four innings of the game while only allowing three hits and a walk but no runs.
At the plate the Yard Goats got things started early. Jared Thomas (No. 8 PuRP) was hit by a pitch as the first batter of the game and eventually came around to score after a Jacob Humphrey double and a fielder’s choice hit into by Braylen Wimmer. Hartford would rest on that one-run lead throughout the majority of the game until tacking on another couple in the eighth on a two RBI single from Roynier Hernandez (No. 29 PuRP). Thomas would go on to drive in a final unnecessary insurance run with a single in the ninth.
Yankees may regret trading TJ Rumfield, who ‘absolutely’ knew he could star for Rockies | The Athletic ($)
As the Rockies were preparing to visit Yankee Stadium earlier this week, Brendan Kuty of the Athletic was reflecting on the offseason trade that brought TJ Rumfield to Denver from New York. Rumfield himself appears to have been surprised by the deal at the time as he was, at the time, focused on forcing his way onto the Yankees roster despite knowing that he was blocked by incumbent first baseman Ben Rice.
Strike 2: Manager Don Baylor knew why avoiding 100 losses mattered | Mile High Sports
The Rockies attempt to avoid a fourth straight 100 loss season will come down to the final few weeks of the year. Mark Knudson reflects on the Rockies first manager, Don Baylor, and why keeping the fledgling expansion team from reaching that mark was a key focus of his.
Breaking Down the WPBL Playoffs | Baseball Prospectus ($)
In non-Rockies baseball news: The WPBL regular season came to an end this past weekend! Bradley Woodrum did a deep dive on all four teams as they entered the postseason on Wednesday. There’s been a lot of good narrative writing about the WPBL so far in it’s inaugural season but this piece applies a level of numerical analysis we, as baseball fans, have grown accustomed to having access to. Very worth the read whether you’ve been watching the WPBL or not.
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