NL WEST NEWS AND NOTES

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

If the Diamondbacks are to win their first National League West title since 2011, they need left-hander Robbie Ray to return to his 2017 form.

Ray was an ace-like No. 2 starter last year but will lug a 4.91 ERA into his start Aug. 24 at home against the Seattle Mariners. He will be working on extra rest thanks to the team’s two open dates this week.

Plagued by walks, Ray said he’ll try to find a groove by studying video of his best work and matching that technical form in bullpen sessions. “I just need to get back to what I do best and that’s pound the zone,” he told “The Arizona Republic.”

His average of 4.9 walks is up a full walk from last year. He has allowed three or more walks in 10 of 16 starts.

Ray, 26, has maintained his 2017 fastball velocity of about 93-94 mph, and he’s averaging 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings.

❚ A toughening schedule is perhaps Arizona’s No. 1 obstacle through season’s end. Beating the last-place Padres six out of seven recent games had Arizona atop the division entering this week, but teams with winning records are the opponents for 29 of 37 games to the finish line.

COLORADO ROCKIES

Dominant reliever Adam Ottavino is shouldering his heaviest workload in four years. Will his performance wane in September as a result? A year after finishing with 53 1 ⁄ 3 innings, Ottavino had logged 60 1 ⁄ 3 innings this season entering this week. He was limited to 27 innings in 2016 after recovering from Tommy John elbow surgery performed in May 2015.

Ottavino, 32, has looked sharp, not fatigued, in almost every outing. He carried a 1.64 ERA into this week.

If Ottavino maintains his home-field dominance, the Rockies are more apt to claim their first NL West title. He began the week with a 1.07 home ERA and had held hitters to a .111 batting average and just one home run in 25 1 ⁄ 3 innings at Coors Field.

❚ Reliever Mike Dunn’s rehab assignment this week doesn’t portend a quick return. Dunn will need “multiple” outings, manager Bud Black said.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

The tight race in the NL West could tempt the Dodgers to have

Walker Buehler pitch more innings than they otherwise would prefer.

The rotation’s only righthander, Buehler will go into his start Aug. 22 against the St. Louis Cardinals having thrown 103 1 ⁄ 3 innings, a career-high total for a season.

He logged 98 innings last year in his only other professional season with a significant workload. In 2016, he threw only five innings because of an elbow injury suffered in college that required Tommy John surgery in 2015.

Buehler, 24, has a 3.19 ERA over 15 starts and one relief outing. He was on the disabled list for most of June because of a rib injury.

He has allowed two runs or fewer in his last four starts and twice has gone seven innings with no more than one run allowed. Hitters had just a .255 on-base percentage against him over the 25 1 ⁄ 3- inning span.

❚ Closer Kenley Jansen said he was feeling better and was activated Aug. 20. The team nosedived after Jansen was sidelined Aug. 9 by an irregular heartbeat.

SAN DIEGO PADRES

Wil Myers has looked comfortable at third base, his new position.

He had nine assists and a putout in his first game, and the challenge of throwing from different angles hasn’t been a problem for the former outfielder.

The Padres want to see more of Myers at third so they can make better decisions about their 2019 roster. They have six other candidates for the outfield, and Eric Hosmer is a fixture at first base.

Getting Myers’ bat into the lineup is important. That his salary will quadruple in 2020 to $22.5 million adds urgency to fleshing out what he can and can’t do.

❚ Shortstop Freddy Galvis is another key piece to the offseason puzzle. Galvis is a standout defender, recently homered in three games in a row and could be this team’s MVP, but he’s eligible for free agency in November and figures to be in demand. If the Padres keep Galvis, shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., their top prospect, might have to move to third.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

When right-hander Dereck Rodriguez strained his right hamstring during the Giants’ Aug. 14 scrum with the Dodgers, it cost him two starts against teams with losing records. But he might not have pitched much more this season anyway.

Rodriguez was a candidate to get shut down in September because of his workload. He already has pitched 130 1 ⁄ 3 innings, just 13 fewer than his career high last year.

And it’s not as if the Giants are charging toward the top of the division. When they got swept over the weekend at Cincinnati, it put a damper on their already faint playoff hopes.

Rodriguez has had a season to build on, however. He has allowed two runs or fewer in his last nine starts.

❚ Upward-trending Heliot Ramos, the franchise’s No. 2 prospect, will finish his first full season with about 500 plate appearances for low Class A Augusta (Ga.). Through 59 at-bats in August, the 18-year-old righthanded hitter was having his best month of the season: .288 batting average, .542 slugging percentage, four triples, two homers and a double.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT

David Dahl, Rockies

Consider the homegrown Dahl a “free” Rockies acquisition in lieu of trading for an outfielder last month. Recovered from a foot fracture, the outfielder has added timely hits this month.