Rockies vs. Padres Pick
Can the Colorado Rockies bounce back from their recent rough stretch to earn a win in the series opener at the San Diego Padres? First pitch is 10:10PM EST.
Oddsmakers at sports book Bovada.lv have made the Rockies a -130 favorite to win on the moneyline. The Padres are a +110 underdog and the over-under is 8.5.
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Pitching for Colorado will be Tyler Anderson (5-5, 5.28 ERA), while the Padres turn to Clayton Richard (7-14, 4.82). Anderson sports a 1.40 WHIP with 70 strikeouts in 73 1/3 innings. He has thrown 10 straight shutout innings over two appearances, including in a 16-0 home win over the Padres where he allowed two hits while striking out three and walking two over six innings. Anderson has a 5.54 ERA in 39 road innings. Richard carries a 1.51 WHIP with 136 strikeouts in 185 innings. He allowed four runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and three walks in a 6-1 loss at the Rockies his last time out. Richard has a 4.62 ERA in 97 1/3 home innings.
Colorado has an 82-70 record and is 39-38 on the road, while San Diego is 68-84 and 41-36 at home. The Rockies have won eight of the last 10 meetings and the total has gone over six times.
Still leading the race for the second NL Wild Card spot by one game, Colorado is in the midst of a three-game losing streak that was extended Wednesday afternoon with a 4-0 loss at the Giants. Jonathan Lucroy was 3-for-4 in the defeat. Tyler Chatwood allowed three earned runs in six innings to take the loss. The Padres had their three-game win streak snapped Wednesday night via a 13-7 home loss to the Diamondbacks. Hunter Renfroe became the first Padres rookie to belt three home runs in a game, driving in four. Manuel Margot was 2-for-3 with two walks, while Erick Aybar went 2-for-4 with a walk. Christian Villanueva was 2-for-4 with his first career home run and two runs scored. Rocky Gale also hit his first career home run and drove in two. Craig Stammen took the loss in relief.
The Rockies are desperately trying to hold on, but are not the same team on the road as they are at home. They are a better road team this year than a typical Colorado team, but it’s still not where they’d prefer to play their baseball when the home games are at a hitter’s haven. After Colorado was shut down by a lefty in Matt Moore Wednesday afternoon, it gets another test against Richard tonight. We’re going to say the playoff picture gets even more muddled after the Padres win in a small upset.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: SAN DIEGO PADRES +110