aaron_cook1The Colorado Rockies have the chance to take three of four games from the Chicago Cubs tonight, after yesterday’s 11-5 win at Coors Field, which served several purposes. The Rockies are now tied with the San Francisco Giants in the National League wild-card chase, after the Giants lost to the Cincinnati Reds (via The Denver Post).

The Rockies and the Giants are now just five-and-a-half games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West division lead, the closest the Rockies have been to the Dodgers since April 29. The win also puts the Rockies two games ahead of the Cubs in the wild-card chase, MLB.com writes, and put a cork in the throngs of Cubs fans that clogged downtown bars like a blue plague over the weekend.

The Post writes that the Cubs led the National League in road attendance in 2008, attracting an average of 36,328 fans. Cubs fans accounted for about a third of the 40,000-plus fans at Friday night’s game at Coors Field.

Meanwhile, pitcher Aaron Cook is recovering from a swollen big toe he suffered during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies last week, and he’ll miss his Tuesday start against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field (via The Associated Press). The extra time off will help Cook, whom the Rockies will need heading down the stretch toward making a playoff run. Or maybe they’d have better luck making the playoffs if their owners had deeper pockets.

The Post’s Troy Renck points out that if the playoffs started today, seven of the eight playoff teams would be the highest paid in baseball. The Giants and the Rockies are the only two teams of the playoff contenders that aren’t in the top tier.