With rivalry weekend now in the books, the MLB will return to its regularly scheduled matchups. The Philadelphia Phillies are following a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates and have a great chance to continue stacking wins against the Colorado Rockies. After an uneasy start to the season, Philadelphia has found its footing and won 15 of its past 20.
One concern that has risen is the outlook for the Phillies’ bullpen. The bullpen unit got off to a brutal start to the season, but has turned things around. However, Jose Alvarado landed an 80-game suspension for testing positive for PEDs. Alvarado has been one of the high-leverage arms Philadelphia has counted on, and this change will likely increase the team’s urgency in the trade market ahead of the deadline.
This should not be a major concern for this specific matchup, as Colorado will limp into this matchup with a league-worst 8-38 record.
Looking at the Monday matchup, Philadelphia holds -245 odds on the moneyline while the Rockies hold +200 odds on the moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 10 for this game.
Phillies vs. Rockies prediction, preview
Cristopher Sanchez will be on the mound for the Phillies and continues to produce despite being overshadowed by the impressive Philadelphia pitching staff. Sanchez enters this matchup with a 4-1 record and a 2.91 ERA on the season. He has struck out 52 batters in 43.1 innings and allowed just 14 total earned runs.
For Colorado, Kyle Freeland will be making his 10th start of the season. He is 0-6 on the year with a 6.15 ERA. Freeland has allowed 31 earned runs in his 45.1 innings pitched and has given up the second-most hits in all of baseball. He has given up 17 earned runs across his past four starts.
Philadelphia’s offense has not reached the heights it is designed to yet, but it still has been respectable. They rank 10th in the MLB in runs, ninth in hits, and 18th in home runs. They are coming off a one-run performance yesterday in which they tallied just three total hits. However, most of this can be chalked up to the 8.0 near-perfect innings thrown by Paul Skenes.
Colorado’s offense ranks 22nd in home runs, 29th in hits, and 29th in runs. Hunter Goodman is the only member of the team flirting with a .300 average, and no player on the roster is posting more than a .354 OBP (Goodman leads). 12 players on the Rockies roster are posting a negative WAR and, outside of Goodman, no player has more than 19 RBIs or 33 hits.
Phillies vs. Rockies pick, best bet
There is a pretty notable gap in talent between these two teams, and expect this to be put on full display in this series’ opening matchup. Count on Philadelphia’s bats to come alive in this favorable matchup, with Colorado set to be unable to match their level of offensive performance. Cristopher Sanchez has only allowed more than two earned runs in one of his eight starts this season, and has faced much more intimidating lineups than what the Rockies will bring to the table.
Philadelphia has won three straight games entering this matchup and nine of its past 12. Even with the success, they still have not quite played up to their potential. The outfield production has been underwhelming, and players like Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm have not been playing to their peak.
This is a great chance to snap out of it with a favorable pitching matchup and the game total properly indicating there should be some runs, with the game over/under set at 10. Take the Phillies to cover the -1.5 run line at -166 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook, and this is also a matchup you should be able to have some fun with some of the player props. Kyle Schwarber is third in the MLB in home runs and a threat to go yard every time he steps to the plate. This is a good spot to take a chance on his +240 odds for a home run on DraftKings. Feel good about the Phillies’ team total in this matchup (6.5) and don’t be afraid to play around with the alternate run line in what could quickly turn into a blowout in this game.
