There are nine games of MLB action taking place across tonight’s MLB slate. Helping to close down the action with a 9:38 p.m. ET, the Colorado Rockies will take on the Los Angeles Angels. This marks the first matchup between these two divisional bottom feeders, with neither out to their desired start to the season.
The Angels enter as -205 moneyline favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook and hold +104 odds on the -1.5 run line, while the Rockies sit as a +168 underdog. The run total is set at 8.
Rockies at Angels prediction, preview
The Colorado Rockies enter with a 22-38 record on the season, which slots them in last place in the National League West. They are looking to bounce back from a season-worst 19-6 loss to the San Francisco Giants yesterday, which snapped a two-game winning streak. Colorado has lost nine of their last 12 overall. On the season, the Rockies have gone 31-29 to the run line, and the game total is 27-32-1 to the over/under.
Kyle Freeland is the expected starter for the Rockies tonight. The 33-year-old has struggled greatly this season, entering with an 8.08 ERA and 1.748 WHIP. Freeland has allowed 60 hits and 12 home runs, while tallying 39 strikeouts in 42.1 innings of work. He has not shown signs of settling in, coming off a season-high eight earned runs in the previous start against the Dodgers. Freeland has allowed 30 earned runs and 10 home runs across his past five starts.
As a team, the Rockies are slashing a collective .245/.313/.384 with a .696 OPS. TJ Rumfield and Troy Johnson are tied with a team-high 57 hits and have driven in a combined 52 RBIs. Hunter Goodman has produced a team-high 13 home runs and 23 RBIs. Ezekiel Tovar has had a solid start to the season, while Mickey Moniak has impressed with 12 home runs, although he is currently on the injured list. Colorado ranks seventh in hits, 18th in runs, 22nd in home runs, and has tallied the third-most strikeouts.
The Los Angeles Angels are off to a 23-37 start to the season, which slots them in last place in the AL West. They are coming off a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in the previous game, but have won six of their last nine games. On the season, the Angels have gone 29-31 to the run line, and the game total is 28-32 to the over/under.
Jose Soriano will take the mound for the Angels tonight. He has made 12 starts so far this season, and enters with a 2.65 ERA, a 1.150 WHIP, with 51 hits and 78 strikeouts across 71.1 innings pitched. After allowing one or fewer earned runs through each of his first six starts, Soriano has allowed two or more earned runs in five of his six starts since. He has allowed 11 earned runs across his past three starts.
The Angels are slashing a collective .230/.314/.386 with a .700 OPS. Jo Adell leads the team with 55 hits, along with nine home runs and 33 RBIs. Zach Neto has 54 hits, 10 home runs, and 27 RBIs, but leads the American League with 82 strikeouts. Mike Trout had turned back the clock a bit this season, with 50 hits, a team-high 14 home runs, and leads all of baseball with 56 walks. Oswald Peraza, Jorge Soler, Vaughn Grissom, and Logan O’Hoppe also play key roles. The Angels rank 21st in the MLB in hits, 15th in runs, 10th in home runs, and have struck out more than any team in the league.
Rockies at Angels pick, best bet
While Jose Soriano has shown some vulnerabilities in recent starts, this is still a pitching matchup that heavily favors the Angels. Fading Kyle Freeland has been a favorite MLB strategy of mine these past two years, and the same principle applies for tonight. Freeland has allowed six or more earned runs in four of his past five starts. The Angels are also slashing a career .317/.359/.550 with a .909 OPS collectively against Freeland. He has conceded three home runs and 14 RBIs across 60 at-bats.
While the Angels are hitting just .230 as a team, they have tallied 71 home runs and 255 runs on the season. Freeland has allowed 12 home runs on the season and 10 across his past five games. Expect this to be a factor tonight. Trout, Soler, and O’Hoppe have each already homered off Freeland in their careers.
Colorado is also dealing with a few significant injury issues ahead of this matchup. Mickey Moniak is on the IL after a strong start to the season, TJ Rumfield is day-to-day, and Case Williams, Jordan Beck, Brayan Castillo, and Jimmy Hergert are each out. These are significant concerns in both the outfield alignment and the bullpen depth. Entering with a thin bullpen only magnifies the concern about Freeland on the mound. This is especially the case after the Rockies had to burn through six pitchers to get through nine innings yesterday.
While the bats have not been embarrassing for this Rockies team, expect them to be put in a deficit that is too difficult to overcome in the early stages of this game. Count on the Angels to put up some crooked numbers in the opening few innings and for the bullpen to be unable to limit the damage. Colorado is coming off a 19-6 loss in the previous game. While I don’t expect the damage to be quite this notable, I feel comfortable backing the Angels on the 1.5-run line, and there is some value in alternate lines such as -2.5 at +149 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Best bet: Angels -1.5 (+104)
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