NL West report: Padres, D-backs split in Mexico, Rockies hanging tough

Division notes

San Diego has starters Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove, and Griffin Canning all on the injured list, so they signed free agent Lucas Giolito last week to a one-year deal worth $3 million plus a mutual option for 2027. He pitched in a tuneup game Saturday in Class-A Lake Elsinore, and left in the third inning after taking a comebacker off his hand, but after the outing Giolito said he was fine, per Marty Caswell. Arizona lost four games in a row last week before winning Sunday. Over at AZ Snakepit, Ben Siegel wondered how much time Alek Thomas — hitting .213/.253/.400 through Sunday with a career .276 on-base percentage — has before the Diamondbacks pursue other options in center field and/or the roster.

Rockies hanging around

Renee Dechert, who writes for Purple Row and her own Rockies Pitch newsletter, offered some perspective after the Rockies’ Friday win over the New York Mets. Colorado also won the last two games of that series in New York to complete a weekend sweep, and are now 13-16. Still in last place, but no longer hopeless. Colorado reached its nadir as a franchise in 2025, losing 119 games, and since then they have revamped the front office for the first time in years — including hiring former Dodgers executives Paul DePodesta and Josh Byrnes — and have new partial ownership coming as well. Last season, the Rockies lost 50 games before they won their 10th game. Evan Lang at Purple Row noticed the improvement as well:

The Rockies are still not a great team. The offense has a lot of question marks when it comes to their “swing first and ask questions later” approach to hitting and inconsistent ability to win close games. However, most of the games are still close, the pitching has been shockingly solid—dare I say even *good*—and they’re keeping fans engaged. Our comments sections are proof positive of that!

NL West standings

Dodgers 19-9, – – Padres 18-9, 0.5 GB D-backs 15-12, 3.5 GB Giants 13-15, 6 GB Rockies 13-16, 6.5 GB

The week ahead

• Dodgers: vs. Marlins, at Cardinals
• Padres: vs. Cubs, vs. White Sox
• D-backs: at Brewers, at Cubs
• Giants: at Phillies, at Rays
• Rockies: at Reds, vs. Braves