9. Colorado Rockies (84-72, plus-53, LT: 9)

To be fair, this is a bit of a cheat. Those nine games all came against the Padres and Giants, the two worst offenses in baseball, even after adjusting for

To be fair, this is a bit of a cheat. Those nine games all came against the Padres and Giants, the two worst offenses in baseball, even after adjusting for their pitcher-friendly home parks (seven of those nine games were at Petco and AT&T). And the Rockies didn’t exactly dominate that stretch despite that impressive starting pitching run, going just 4-5 against two of the worst teams in the league.

So yes, the Rockies could get another schedule break in the final week of the season, with all six games at home—three against the sub-.500 Marlins and three against a Dodgers team that might rest a bunch of regulars, since they’ve already clinched the NL West and are about to lock up home-field advantage through the NL playoffs too.

But Colorado stumbling against two other seemingly lightweight opponents doesn’t inspire confidence. Big-time pitching performances are great. But for the Rockies to finally lock down this final NL playoff spot, they’re going to have to find a way to actually hit the ball too—something they haven’t done much of for a while now. This would be a perfect time for some Coors Field magic.

8 New York Yankees (86-69, plus-179, LT: 8)