Colorado, meanwhile, is just trying to get bodies on the field. The Rockies have lost five pitchers for the season to injury — Jose Quintana, Kyle Freeland, Chase Dollander, Welinton Herrera and RJ Petit are all out, with Herrera's torn UCL ending his year outright — and third baseman Kyle Karros, their best position-player breakout of 2026, has been working back from a concussion with a rehab assignment at Double-A Hartford this week.
Both teams are mid-series against other opponents right now, and both series are still open. Colorado dropped the opener of its set with St. Louis, 6-7, with two more games left before the trip east — after taking 2 of 3 from Baltimore just before that. New York dropped its own opener at San Diego, 2-3, with a pair left to play there before coming home; that loss snapped what had been a stretch of 2 wins in the last 3 against the Angels. Whatever shape either roster is in by Tuesday depends on how those unfinished series go.
This is about as mismatched a September matchup as the schedule offers — a 54-87 team that's been rebuilding through three straight 100-loss seasons against an 80-61 club still fighting for playoff position — but the subplots carry it. If Karros is back from Hartford and Judge is back from the injured list in the same week, this series opener is worth a look even with the standings this lopsided.