get a chance to play the role of spoiler against the Colorado Rockies for the second straight September when the National League West clubs open a three-game series on Friday night.Giants right-hander Chris Stratton (9-9 Allen Craig Jersey , 4.99 ERA), bombed in back-to-back starts against the Rockies earlier this season, and Rockies left-hander Tyler Anderson (6-8, 4.89), winless in his last 11 starts, draw the starting assignments in the opener.The Rockies (81-65) begin a nine-game trip in first place in the NL West http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-brad-hand-jersey , having moved a healthy 4 1/2 games up on third-place Arizona (77-70) with a 10-3 shellacking of the Diamondbacks Thursday at Colorado to complete a 3-1 series win.Article continues below ...The Los Angeles Dodgers (80-67) are in second place, 1 1/2 games behind the Rockies.The Rockies will visit Los Angeles and Arizona for three games apiece next week to complete its road — and NL West — schedule. Colorado finishes the season at home against Philadelphia and Washington.The Rockies found themselves battling the Diamondbacks, Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers in mid-September last season when they went into San Francisco and lost two straight to a Giants team well out of contention.Colorado then had to scramble just to claim the second wild-card spot in the NL by one game.This year’s San Francisco club finds itself in the same situation, having lost a West Coast era-record 11 straight.Stratton has started two of those games and pitched pretty well in 4-1 and 4-3 losses to the New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers, respectably. He allowed just seven hits in 11 innings in those games.That was a marked improvement over the 13 runs and 19 hits he gave up in 9-8 and 8-1 losses in a home-and-home sequence with the Rockies bridging June and July. Nolan Arenado homered in both of the games. The star third baseman hasn’t been the only Colorado player who has rocked the 28-year-old Stratton in the past. Ian Desmond (.625), Trevor Story (.556) Tony Gwynn Jersey , Charlie Blackmon (.500), DJ LeMahieu (.500) and Gerardo Parra (.500) all have .500 or better career batting averages against Stratton.He has gone 1-1 with a 7.89 ERA in five games, including four starts, in his career against Colorado.Anderson will face a Giants team that has hit even worse than he has pitched of late.The 28-year-old hasn’t won since July 4 and now leads the NL in home runs allowed with 29.He was taken deep by the Giants’ Gorkys Hernandez in a 9-8 Rockies home win on Sept. 3. Anderson did not get the win, pulled after 5 1/3 innings having allowed three runs and six hits.Anderson has made six starts in his career against the Giants and went 1-2 with a 4.25 ERA.Hernandez has two career homers against him in 10 career at-bats.The Giants enter the series having scored one run in five straight home games. They’ve totaled just nine home runs (none in the last three outings) during their 0-for-September run of 11 games. Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty ImagesThe Chicago White Sox and San Diego Padres both remain in the race to sign free-agent shortstop Manny Machado, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.Rosenthal described Chicago as a "strong factor Dave Winfield Jersey ," with San Diego essentially on equal footing. The White Sox and Padres have prioritized Machado, with the Philadelphia Phillies still in the picture as well. Machado sits atop Philadelphia's list of remaining targets.MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported Sunday the Phillies were emerging as the favorite to land free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper. Bob Nightengale of USA Today followed up to say the Phillies and Harper appeared to be nearing an agreement on a long-term contract, though nothing was finalized.The Padres could be a major wild card when it comes to Harper and Machado. They're generally not a marquee free-agent destination, but anything can seemingly happen if two of MLB's biggest young stars can go unsigned for this long.San Diego hasn't reached the playoffs since 2006, and ownership is clearly ready to end that drought. According to Heyman, the Padres have put a deal on the table for Machado that would be worth about $280 million. Their offer to Harper exceeded that.Not to be outdone Rollie Fingers Jersey , the White Sox already signed Yonder Alonso and Jon Jay, two moves widely seen to be with Machado in mind. Alonso is Machado's brother-in-law, while Alonso, Machado and Jay have all built a friendship through their ties to the Miami region.For the most part, few could have predicted Machado and Harper would still be available this close to spring training. Don't dismiss the possibility of the proverbial mystery team entering the fray at the last minute and making the biggest splash of the offseason.