Three up, three down: Paul Goldschmidt is having another MVP-type season

A look at the trending topics this week in MLB:

THREE UP

MVP Gold? Paul Goldschmidt has finished second in the National League MVP race twice — once when the Arizona Diamondbacks finished .500, the other time when they finished two games above .500. Now, with the Diamondbacks on pace for their first playoff spot in six years, their first baseman might finally take home the trophy. He entered the weekend ranked second in the NL in on-base plus slugging percentage (to Bryce Harper), runs scored (to Charlie Blackmon), runs batted in (to Nolan Arenado), walks (to Joey Votto) and on-base percentage (to Justin Turner). He also ranks in the top eight in home runs, batting average, slugging percentage, hits and stolen bases, with 15, same as Cincinnati Reds speedster Jose Peraza.

Not so rocky: The notion that a team that plays at Coors Field would contend for the playoffs with kids in the starting rotation seemed fanciful, but here we are in August, with the Colorado Rockies on pace for a wild-card spot. They’ve used seven starting pitchers — no team in the NL West has used fewer — and none of them older than 27. Rookies Kyle Freeland, Jeff Hoffman, German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela combined to start 69 of the Rockies’ first 110 games. Jon Gray, who led the team in strikeouts last year, is back after missing two months because of a stress fracture in his foot. And, best of all, Chad Bettis could be activated as soon as next week. Bettis, who led the Rockies in innings last year, left the club in spring training so he could be treated for testicular cancer.

Fly me to the moon: On Monday, before the Tampa Bay Rays opened a series in Houston, Rays ace Chris Archer presented Orbit, the Astros’ mascot, with a “declaration of unfriendliness” in recognition of a “state of discord” between the two. Orbit crumpled the declaration and the next day sent Archer a laxative bottle wrapped in a paper that read “electrolyte formula.” Archer did not consume the product, then pitched six innings to beat the Astros. The following day, Archer presented Orbit with a diploma certifying him as a “junior mascot.” As Archer shook hands with Orbit, his teammates pelted the unsuspecting mascot with water balloons. Scoreboard: human 1, “lime-green outer-space creature” 0.

THREE DOWN

Losing the clubhouse? Yadier Molina is 35. A recent day off seemed to make sense; he has played more than any other major league catcher. “Just kind of watching him go around the bases too,” St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said, “you could tell that he’s, you know …” Tired? “I train to play 174 games because that’s what it takes to be Champion,” Molina shot back in Instagram. “I’m not tired and the day I feel tired I’ll express it myself.” He added the hashtag “#misinforming.” Just a misunderstanding? Apparently not, because the Cardinals’ iconic catcher followed up with another Instagram post, this one a picture of him and former coach Jose Oquendo. “Missing this men right here,” Molina wrote. The Cardinals bypassed Oquendo to hire Matheny.

Present tense: The Astros claimed to protect their future by refusing to swap their top prospects at the trade deadline, but their future is now, with the best record in the American League. They made one deadline deal, acquiring starting pitcher Francisco Liriano in the hope he can be an effective reliever. “Disappointment is a little bit of an understatement,” Astros ace Dallas Keuchel said. “I feel like a bunch of teams really bolstered their rosters for the long haul and for a huge playoff push, and us just kind of staying pat was really disappointing.” That would have been the feeling in the Dodgers’ clubhouse had the team not acquired Yu Darvish.

Dumbing down: No sooner had Adrian Beltre collected his 3,000^th hit than Fox Sports radio host Doug Gottlieb wondered aloud whether Beltre might have used steroids. “If I’m Adrian Beltre, that’s the greatest compliment anybody could ever give me: I’m so good I must be on something,” Gottlieb said. No evidence links Beltre, 38, to the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Gottlieb noted, correctly, that steroid abuse is widespread in the Dominican Republic, where Beltre grew up. So, rather than accuse, Gottlieb could educate, with a discussion of how to pierce the steroid culture in the Dominican. “Is it interesting to the national sports radio listener?” he said. “I’ve been trained to think it isn’t.”

SERIES OF THE WEEK

Cardinals vs. Royals

Monday through Thursday

This is a Show-Me series in the Show-Me state. This could be the first year since 1984 that the Kansas City Royals are in the playoffs and the Cardinals are not. The Royals’ nine-game winning streak put them in wild-card position, but getting swept in Baltimore this week put them in jeopardy of falling out of wild-card position. First baseman Eric Hosmer is batting .345 since May 1. The Royals, ranking last in the AL in on-base percentage, acquired outfielder Melky Cabrera and promptly inserted him into the No. 3 spot in the lineup. The Cardinals are barely alive in the NL Central, but they haven’t been above .500 since the second of back-to-back victories over the Dodgers on June 1. Shortstop Paul DeJong is tied for the team lead with 14 home runs; he didn’t make his major league debut until May 28.

bill.shaikin@latimes.com

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