Tonight at Coors Field in Denver, the Reds open a four games series against the Rockies. This game marks the beginning of the mathematical second half of the season for the Reds. Their 35-46 record in the first half of 2017 fell one win short of their Pythagorean projection. On a more positive note, thanks to a week of home cooking against Central Division rivals, the Reds are 5-5 over their last 10 games.
The Rockies enter the series at 48-36 which while 3rd in the tough NL West is good enough to hold down the second NL Wildcard spot, a full six games better than the Wildcard third place Chicago Cubs .