Colorado Rockies clinch Wild Card berth, return to postseason for first time since 2009

Colorado will face Arizona in NL Wild Card Game on Wednesday in Phoenix

The Colorado Rockies are back in the MLB playoffs for the first time in eight years. With the Milwaukee Brewers’ loss on Saturday in St. Louis, Colorado has clinched the second Wild Card spot in the National League before their game even started in Denver.

The Rockies will play another National League West divisional foe in the National League Wild Card Game, battling the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN, WatchESPN).

This is the fourth postseason appearance for the Rockies, who were a Wild Card team as well in 1995, 2007 and 2009.

Colorado’s offense has been paced by a pair of National League MVP candidates, with center fielder Charlie Blackmon hitting .329/.397/.601 with 86 extra-base hits, leading the NL in hits (210), triples (14), runs scored (137) and batting average.

Gold Glove third baseman is Nolan Arenado hitting .307/.371/.586 with 37 home runs and an NL-best 130 RBI.

The Rockies spent 67 days this season in first place in the National League West, pacing the division as late as June 20, and have been in playoff position at the end of every day of 2017.

Bud Black, a former big league pitcher for 15 years and major league pitching coach for seven years before managing nine years in San Diego, has excelled in his first year at the helm in Colorado, shepherding a young staff.

The rotation is led by 25-year-old Jon Gray, who is in line to start Wednesday’s wild card game. The Rockies have also had 91 starts from a quartet of rookie pitchers, with German Marquez, Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela and Jeff Hoffman combining for a 4.60 ERA — roughly a 110 ERA+ — in 540 innings in 2017.