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HOT DEBATE: Who will win the NL West -- Diamondbacks, Dodgers or Rockies?

It's the most competitive race in baseball. What can the Arizona Diamondbacks do to separate themselves from the Dodgers and Rockies?

It's Labor Day, which means two things: Our newsroom is relatively quiet and baseball season is hitting its final stretch.

The National League West is shaping up to be the most competitive race in September with the Diamondbacks, Dodgers and Rockies all within one game of the division lead heading into play Monday.

Digital producers Hayden Packwood (Arizona native) and Michael Nowels (Colorado native), previously argued over last season's Wild Card game, and Cameron La Fontaine has joined the conversation on behalf of the Dodgers.

Hayden: The Diamondbacks were a walk away from being on top of the NL West yesterday. A WALK. Like why wouldn't you walk Kemp in that situation!? Anyway, this one's close and, in my opinion, it's definitely going to come down to some of the final series. The D-backs finish out the year at home against the Rockies and Dodgers before going on the road against the Padres. If they can stay close to the top, after facing the Braves and Cubs, that should give the team a leg up in the race.

David Peralta celebrates with Brad Boxberger after the final out against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. April 28, 2018. (Photo: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports)

Michael: With the Diamondbacks and Dodgers facing off this weekend, the Rockies looked primed to move to the top of the standings with a four-game series in San Diego. Instead, they dropped the first two of the series before salvaging a split. Of course, Colorado hasn't made much sense all year long: They've looked dead and come back multiple times, and somehow it's the starting pitching that's keeping them afloat, not that oft-cited offense. Adjusted for ballpark, the Rockies and D-backs are two of the NL's four worst-hitting teams by OPS+; the Dodgers top the league in that category.

Team Standard Batting Table
TmOPS+

LAD104
LgAvg94
COL88
ARI85

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Generated 9/3/2018.

Cameron: The Dodgers are turning it on and doing it at the exact right time. One week ago, L.A. was in third, 4.5 games back of the D-backs and now here we are. Let’s remember, this is a team that resurrected itself mid-season and went on a 31-13 run to pull themselves back into the NL West race. The Dodgers’ next three series are against the Mets (61-75) , Rockies (74-62) and Reds (59-78). If they play the way they should, they could extend this division lead to 3-5 games by mid-September.

Hayden: Pitching wins championships. And the Diamondbacks, with the league's second-best ERA+, has had some of the best in the NL. On Thursday, Robbie Ray found his fastball and looked a lot like his old self. And when compared to the Dodgers and Rockies, the D-backs bullpen, surprisingly, has been a strong point for them this season, despite the two pitches Bradley threw to Kemp. The pitching will just have to be even better with the tough schedule coming up, and the bats not named Goldschmidt, Peralta and Pollock, have to wake up at some point.

Michael: It's true -- the expensive Rockies bullpen has not paid off for Colorado, with Brian Shaw completely combusting and closer Wade Davis looking shaky through the middle of the season. Much about this team has been confounding, but who's to say their negative run differential will catch up to them in September when it hasn't all season long? If Charlie Blackmon can start hitting like his all-star reputation suggests, that could provide the boost the Rockies need to win their first NL West crown in franchise history and break LA's five-year division title streak.

Colorado Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon (19) hits an RBI single during the seventh inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park Sept. 2, 2018. (Photo: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports)

Cameron: The upcoming schedule, which I already talked a little about, is firmly in LA's favor. The Dodgers close by playing zero first-place teams in the September, get two series against the Padres (54-85) and get the Reds and Mets. The D-backs have to play a four-game series against the first-place Atlanta Braves, a series on the road against the first-place Houston Astros, another series against the first-place Chicago Cubs and that's not even including another series against the first-place Dodgers. The Rockies have it easier than the D-backs, but still have some tough series including two against the Dodgers. I think it's time the D-backs and Rockies start worrying about the Wild Card race.

Hayden: The fan in me has to stick with my hometown team. But the NL West seems to be leaning further and further to the Dodgers, especially after this past weekend. The D-backs have an extremely tough schedule ahead. Maybe one of, if not, the toughest to end the season. Can they do it? They have to play perfect baseball. But, you're right Cameron, a Wild Card rematch between the D-backs and Rockies wouldn't be too bad, eh Mike?

Michael: I would be less thrilled with a replay of last year's wild Wild Card game, if only to avoid watching my team give up an embarrassing triple to a relief pitcher. But the Rockies have the most upside left on the schedule: They play both the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers in two more series, while their NL West combatants have just three more games left against one another: the final Monday-Wednesday series of the season. Despite a recent swoon by Nolan Arenado, the Rockies' left side of the infield (3B Arenado and SS Trevor Story) are both in the NL's top 10 in all three Triple Crown statistics. If Arenado breaks out of his slump or they get a little help from elsewhere in the lineup, this team could go deep into October.

Cameron: LA is going to take the division (for the sixth year in a row) because of baseball's two most basic factors: Pitching and hitting.

1) Their recent-form starting pitching is excellent. Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler and Hyun-jin Ryu all have under a 2.00 ERA in their last seven starts. Alex Wood and Rich Hill both have under a 3.00 ERA in their last seven. The D-backs have a couple starters playing well as of late in Buchholz and Corbin. Greinke hasn't been bad, but he's 2-4 in his last seven starts. The Rockies have a couple starters playing well as of late, but a couple that look dismal statistically in their last seven including Tyler Anderson (0-4, 9.85 ERA) and Antonio Senzatela (1-4, 5.17 ERA) over their last seven starts, each. The point is, the Dodgers don't have weaknesses at starting pitcher right now. Their starters are operating like machines. Meanwhile, the D-backs and Rockies both have holes in their starting rotation with much more difficult pitching schedules ahead.

2) The Dodgers are batting a lot better than the D-backs and Rockies. In August, the Dodgers ranked ninth in team batting in the MLB. The Rockies (20th) and Dbacks (26th) are far off in that area.

A team that both pitches and hits better than its opponent is going to come out on top more often than not.

Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Matt Kemp (27) hits a two run RBI walk off double against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium Sept. 2, 2018. (Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

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