Arizona Diamondbacks: First place in the N.L. West on the line in Denver

The Arizona Diamondbacks confront the mile-high altitude for the first time in 2017

The Arizona Diamondbacks just dropped two of three to the Washington Nationals and the offense should shoulder the blame.

The pitching staff held the hottest offense in baseball to a measly 9 runs in three games. After scoring five runs Tuesday, the Diamondbacks’ offense put one and two runs on the scoreboard Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

Arizona now owns the worst road batting average in the National League. Paul Goldschmidt and the rest of the hitters have an opportunity to change the early season narrative this weekend at hitter-friendly Coors Field.

Jake Lamb has been productive away from Chase Field. In 12 games away from the desert, the third baseman is batting .325 (13-for-40) with a team-leading nine RBIs. If field manager Torey Lovullo elects to prioritize scoring runs, Chris Iannetta could see the most playing time. In seven road contests, he is hitting .333 (7-for-21) with two home runs and three RBIs.

However, if the No. 3 hitter is not producing, it is hard to score runs and win games consistently. In 13 road games, Goldschmidt has driven in three runs.  It is early in the season, but Goldschmidt has always hit well away from Phoenix.

With first place in the NL West up for grabs, the bats need to heat up. Facing the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field might just be what the doctor ordered.

Goldschmidt has reached base safely in 56 of his last 57 games against Colorado. During that stretch, “America’s First Baseman” is batting .371 (82-for-221).

In addition, the Diamondbacks have recorded 10-plus hits in 11 straight games played at Coors Field, which is the team’s longest streak in any road ballpark. During that period, Arizona has averaged 7.3 runs per game (80 runs total) and hit .340 (139-for-409).

The Diamondbacks are 8-5 in their last 13 games in Denver.