The Miami Marlins and Colorado Rockies meet for the middle game of their three-game set at Coors Field on Wednesday night. Both teams are well out of the playoff chase and are using the last few weeks of the season as a chance to get their younger players some opportunities to show they are ready to contribute, looking ahead to next season. The elevation at Coors Field and the fun young prospects set up an entertaining matchup on Wednesday night, with the first pitch at 8:40 p.m. ET.
The Marlins took the first game of this series and have won five of their last six, improving to 71-80 on the season with 11 games left to go. They’re on the road for two more games against the Rockies and then two series against the Rangers and Phillies, before finishing at home with a three-game set against the Mets. The Rockies are stumbling to the finish of another brutal season at 41-110, and will finish this home stand against the Angels before going to Seattle and San Francisco to finish the season.
The Marlins are road favorites at -164 on the moneyline, with the run total for the game at 10.5. Let’s preview this Wednesday night matchup with the help of some odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Marlins at Rockies prediction, preview
The starting pitching matchup in this game sets up a huge advantage for the Fish, who start Ryan Weathers against McCade Brown of the Rockies.
Weathers has been limited to only six starts this season due to missing three months with a lat strain. That was also after a late start to the year due to a strained forearm. When available, he has been very effective, posting a 2.73 ERA and 3.99 FIP. He won his return from the injured list against the Nationals last Thursday with five shutout innings, and his only two starts with multiple runs allowed were while he was dealing with his lat issue before landing on the IL.
He may not be fully stretched out after throwing only 68 pitches last time out, but he has been efficient enough to still be a solid option to back as he takes the mound against the struggling Rockies’ offense.
Colorado counters with young righty McCade Brown, who started the season in High-A and worked up to Double-A before making the leap all the way to the majors. In his four starts for the Rockies, he is 0-4 with nine walks, 20 hits allowed and 15 runs against him in just 13 2/3 innings. He racked up huge strikeout numbers in the minors, but has only had 10 strikeouts in his 13 2/3 innings at the majors.
The 25-year-old was a third-round pick in 2021 and broke out after adjusting his delivery this season. He’s not viewed as a front-end starting pitching prospect and seems to be out of his depth right now at the MLB level.
Against Brown, the Marlins should be in a good spot to back their offense. I picked rookie Jakob Marsee in my top home run props of the day, and he should be able to be a solid play for batter props across the board. Connor Norby was just activated from the injured list on Tuesday and went 1-for-4 in his return, while Xavier Edwards (wrist) has missed three in a row since being scratched on Saturday with wrist discomfort.
Heriberto Hernandez has been another meaningful contributor lately for Miami, going 9-for-28 (.321) over his last nine games with eight runs scored and four RBI. Getting him at +127 for 3+ hits + runs + RBI is a solid option if you think the Marlins are going to pile up the runs at Coors against Brown.
On the Rockies’ side, Tyler Freeman has been heating back up and typically hitting leadoff for the Rockies. He’s 13-for-56 (.232) in his 14 games in September with two doubles, two RBI and nine runs scored. With a combined 24 hits, runs and RBI in his 14 games out of the leadoff spot, he can produce solid numgers even without a great batting average.
Marlins vs. Rockies pick, best bet
Best Bet: Marlins -1.5 (-110)
The Marlins won the first game of this series by one run, but they led 6-0 before almost letting it get away. The Rockies have lost nine of their last 10 games and eight of those losses have been by multiple runs.
Strong Lean: McCade Brown under 14.5 outs recorded (+109)
Brown has not worked five innings in any of his four MLB starts, averaging just a little over 10.25 outs recorded per start.
