The Diamondbacks already lost their series to the Colorado Rockies, but their playoff odds have held up more nicely than you would expect.

-Jesse Friedman

How dire are Diamondbacks' playoff chances after second straight loss to Rockies?

DENVER — Even with just 12 days left on Major League Baseball's regular season calendar, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo does not spend much time looking at the standings.

He typically waits till he goes to sleep to check other teams' scores.

With the Diamondbacks losing a second straight game to the last-place Colorado Rockies on Tuesday, the news for Lovullo was not great. The New York Mets beat the Washington Nationals and pulled even with the D-backs for the second wild card spot; the Mets own the tiebreaker.

It could have been worse, though, as both the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres lost.

"I want us to play our game and do our thing and worry about our dugout and our clubhouse at the end of the night and see where we're at," Lovullo said of the wild card race after Tuesday's game. "I'm grateful that nobody's running away with it, but that's of minimal concern with me. I want to just go out and play our game."

The Diamondbacks did not play their game on Tuesday in Colorado. For the second straight night, their league-leading offense produced just two runs against a subpar Rockies pitching staff and in the most hitter-friendly environment in baseball.

Meanwhile, the D-backs made several costly defensive mistakes, and none of the four pitchers that they used looked sharp. With the loss, they have now dropped four of their past five games.

But while the Diamondbacks' playoff chances have taken a hit in recent days, they are not as dire as you might expect.

In large part because the Braves have lost three straight games, the Diamondbacks still have a Fangraphs-estimated 76.8 percent chance to make the playoffs.

In order of highest postseason odds to lowest, here is a look at where all the National League wild card contenders stand (with their records added for context):

1. San Diego Padres, 86-66, 99.4 percent playoff odds
2. Arizona Diamondbacks, 83-68, 76.8 percent
3. New York Mets, 83-68, 71.2 percent
4. Atlanta Braves, 81-70, 52.4 percent

Bizarrely, all four teams currently have playoff odds above 50 percent, but there are only three wild card spots available.

Put simply, the Diamondbacks will almost certainly make the playoffs if they beat any one of the Mets, Braves or Padres. Currently, they are up on the Braves, so that would be sufficient.

According to Fangraphs, the Diamondbacks have the second-hardest remaining schedule out of that group, with the Braves having the easiest and the Mets having the hardest.

Here is a look at what each team has left:

• Padres: 1 vs. HOU, 3 vs. CHW, 3 @ LAD, 3 @ ARI
• Mets: 1 vs. WAS, 4 vs. PHI, 3 @ ATL, 3 @ MIL
• D-backs: 1 @ COL, 4 @ MIL, 3 vs. SF, 3 vs. SD
• Braves: 2 @ CIN, 3 @ MIA, 3 vs. NYM, 3 vs. KC

As this final week-and-a-half unfolds, keep two things in mind.

First, despite what any of the percentages or schedules would suggest, anything can happen. This is baseball, after all. No one expected the D-backs to lose a series to the Rockies, but here we are.

Second, September performance does not necessarily dictate postseason outcomes. An MLB.com study from 2015 actually found no clear correlation between the two. If the Diamondbacks find a way to get in, anything can happen.

Last year is a prime example. The D-backs lost their last four regular season games of the year consecutively before winning five straight to start a playoff run that eventually landed them in the World Series.

While there is plenty of unknown on the horizon for the Diamondbacks, we can say with near certainty that they are going to have to play better down the stretch to punch another ticket to the postseason.

Perhaps that turnaround will start Wednesday afternoon, as they look to avoid a sweep against one of the worst teams in the league.

"You come into Colorado and you score the type of runs that we have in consecutive games, yeah, that's not what I'm looking for," Lovullo said. "But it's just two games. We'll be fine."

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I have fun in the 'pen. Lot of 'Let's go D-backs.' We score when I do that. So, I'm sure they want me back there ... I like being down there. Just hang out and look at the iPad and talk to [bullpen coach Mike Fetters] and be able to move around. The benches are kind of cramped."   Jordan Montgomery on watching Monday's game from the bullpen even after transitioning to a starting role GEAR UP ​