At least once this season, the sun will smile down upon each team as they get to play the most dreadful team in baseball. Each team, that is, except for the Colorado Rockies, who are deprived of the chance to play themselves.

The Rockies are an astonishing 8-42, a 136-loss pace and one of the worst records of any team through 50 games in MLB history (yes, somehow even worse than the 1899 Cleveland Spiders). They have yet to win a single series, sit 23 games back in the NL West, and have already fired their longtime manager, Bud Black. The Phillies just mopped them four in a row at home, they’ve allowed far more runs than any team in baseball, and, despite playing their home games at the friendly confines of Coors Field, have scored the second-fewest. Youngsters Jordan Beck and Hunter Goodman have looked good at the plate and 29-year-old reliever Jake Bird has held opponents to a 1.86 ERA. That’s about it in terms of bright spots.

Coming off a three-game sweep of the Rangers, the Yankees will head to Denver in hopes of stacking wins against a severely compromised component. They should win all three with ease, but as the 2024 White Sox proved last August against New York, every dog has its day. Let’s take a look at the likely pitching matchups this weekend.

Friday: Clarke Schmidt vs. TBD (8:40 pm ET)

After starting the season on the IL and showing a bit of rust in his first couple outings, Clarke Schmidt has settled in, going 3-1 with a 3.13 ERA his last four starts. The right-hander has done a good job limiting hard contact, particularly with his breaking balls, against which opponents are hitting just .123. Something to keep an eye on: Schmidt allowed five free passes last time out against the Mets, bringing his strikeout-to-walk ratio to an underwhelming 30:17 on the year.

Chase Dollander, the Rockies’ number-one prospect, was originally lined up to start Friday. However, he was placed on the IL Thursday with right forearm tightness, throwing off the team’s pitching plans for the weekend. The Rockies have two likely candidates ready to step in. Tanner Gordon made eight starts with Colorado last year, going 0-8 with a 8.65 ERA. He’s struggled similarly at Triple-A so far this year, posting a 6.23 ERA in eight outings, and made one start at the MLB level earlier this month, allowing seven runs (four earned) in 6.1 innings against the Tigers.

Bradley Blalock, who joined Colorado from Milwaukee last season, allowed 23 runs in 16 MLB innings across two stints earlier this year. He’s fared little better in the minors, allowing 18 runs (16 earned) in 11.1 innings. While both Gordon and Blalock are less than inspiring options, they will both have enough rest to pitch Friday and are both on the Rockies’ 40-man roster, meaning the team would not need to do any maneuvering to call either up.

Saturday: Max Fried vs. Kyle Freeland (4:10 pm ET)

Max Fried has been nothing short of a revelation in pinstripes. The lanky lefty leads all MLB starters with a 1.29 ERA and has yet to take a loss in his new home, beginning the year 6-0. Last time out, in what was likely his worst start since opening weekend, Fried held the Mets to two runs on three hits while punching out eight in six innings of work.

Likely because he’s struck out fewer than a batter per inning, xERA anticipates more than two runs of regression to his ERA. We’ll believe it when we see it.

Interim Colorado skipper Warren Schaeffer will hand the ball to his de facto ace, Kyle Freeland, who has been with the Rockies for so long that he was the Game 1 starter of their last playoff team. The good news — Freeland leads his team in fWAR. The bad news — he has a 5.68 ERA. Advanced metrics love his 41-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio and ability to limit the long ball, even while pitching at Coors. That’s presumably little solace for the veteran starter, who’s allowed 71 hits in 50.2 innings. Opponents are hitting .452 against his four-seamer, the pitch he’s thrown most often this year.

Sunday: Will Warren vs. Antonio Senzatela (3:10 pm ET)

Forced into action due to multiple injuries to Yankees starters, Will Warren appears to have figured some things out during his time in the rotation. His last start was his first scoreless appearance in the bigs, with the former top prospect striking out 10 Rangers in 5.1 innings of work.

While his complementary pitches have been inconsistent, the rookie’s four-seamer has played all year, holding opponents to a .164 batting average and just one home run.

He’s expected to square up against Antonio Senzatela. Now in his ninth season, the 30-year-old is a far cry from the pitcher who posted a 4.11 ERA and 120 ERA+ between 2020 and 2021, earning a five-year, $50.5 million extension before the 2022 season. After struggling that year, Senzatela appeared in just five games over the last two seasons as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. It’s been a disastrous return this year, with the veteran leading all of baseball in losses (eight) and hits (84) through ten starts. He’s barely striking out a batter every other inning and, while never a power pitcher, the right-hander is also allowing far more hard contact than he did at his peak.