It’s the NL West battle that everyone will be talking about this weekend. Who needs the Padres and the Dodgers fighting for the division crown when you can watch the Diamondbacks and the Rockies score 15 runs a night at Coors Field?
Thursday marks the first contest of a four-game slate for the basement dwellers in what is suddenly the National League’s most exciting division. Get excited!
Let’s preview this matchup, that might only be noteworthy to bettors, with the help of some odds and lines on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Diamondbacks vs. Rockies prediction, preview
Let’s start with Eduardo Rodriguez. Why not? The veteran left-hander is somehow the more accomplished side of this evening’s pitching matchup, despite the fact that Rodriguez enters play on Thursday with a 5.68 ERA across 103.0 innings of work this season. Now, there’s a case to be made that E-Rod is getting a little unlucky so far in 2025. Among the 96 pitchers with at least 100 innings thrown, Rodriguez’s .358 opponent BABIP is the second-highest mark in baseball, while his 68.5% strand rate is a career-low even with the LHP averaging more than a strikeout per inning. That said, Rodriguez surrendered five earned runs to this same Rockies lineup this past weekend in a non-Coors setting. It’s hard to imagine things going much better tonight in Colorado.
Speaking of things going poorly in Colorado, allow me to introduce Bradley Blalock. You’d be forgiven for not being 100% sure who Blalock is. A former 32nd-round pick of a Red Sox — a round that doesn’t even exist anymore — Blalock has started five games for the Rockies since a mid-season re-call from Triple-A. For the season as a whole, Blalock has 10 appearances with the club and he’s worked 43.1 low-quality innings. In fact, Blalock’s ERA at Coors Field is a ghastly 11.76, as he’s allowed opposing LHBs to compile a gargantuan .791 slugging percentage in the altitude. Granted, this is all a small sample, but in any other organization, Blalock wouldn’t be getting this type of opportunity at the MLB level. That’s for sure.
Take your pick of which Diamondbacks’ LHBs to back in the prop market or to put in your DFS lineups, but a special shoutout needs to go to Ketel Marte. Not only does Marte have back-to-back games with massive ninth inning long balls, but the veteran second baseman has absolutely crushed right-handed pitching all year long. In his 253 plate appearances as a lefty in 2025, Marte is slashing .321/.427/.604 with a .283 ISO and a 183 wRC+. The only two men who have hit RHPs better by wRC+? Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. Pretty good company.
Diamondbacks vs. Rockies pick, best bet
Best Bet: Total Home Runs Over 2.5 (-150)
Two struggling pitchers are starting at Coors Field? Embrace the narrative, baby.
Strong Lean: Ketel Marte 3+ Total Bases (+110)
LHBs have reached base in 52% of their plate appearances against Blalock at Coors in 2025.
