It’s a basement battle on Friday night. The Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants have been racing to the bottom in the National League West all season long, and tonight’s matchup is merely window dressing on lost seasons. But the players have plenty to play for: with three weeks to go before the trade deadline, everyone is playing for an opportunity here or elsewhere. And that makes this game compelling.
The Giants come into this game as -156 moneyline favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook. Colorado is the road underdog at +129, and the over/under for total runs is set at eight. Let’s dig into a preview, prediction, and pick for this contest.
Rockies vs. Giants preview
First things first, let’s look at the starting pitchers.
Tanner Gordon toes the rubber tonight for the Rockies. After being a bit of a punching bag through his first two stints in the majors, the Rockies turned Gordon into a swingman, but the results continue to be ugly. The 28-year-old has a 6.95 ERA this season, in line with his career 7.03 ERA. Though he doesn’t issue many walks, Gordon consistently gives up hard contact, and has struggled to locate his breaking pitches all season long. This Giants lineup will be excited to see him step to the mound.
Oppsite Gordon is the veteran and former Cy Young winner Robbie Ray. He might be making his last starts with the Giants; with San Francisco’s season spiraling, the 34-year-old is sure to be a popular rental target for contenders over the next few weeks. It is a bit of a concern that his strikeout stuff is faltering: Ray hasn’t averaged below nine strikeouts per nine innings since his 2015 rookie season, and he’s sitting at 7.6 this season. But despite the lack of swing-and-miss stuff, the veteran is a gamer who knows how to limit damage and pitch out of tricky situations.
San Francisco’s lineup got off to a horrible start to the year, but they’ve turned it around in a big way. Jung Hoo Lee and Luis Arraez are vying for the NL batting title, and love to slap the ball around the diamond. Rafael Devers found his power stroke after an ice-cold April. Bryce Eldridge is swinging a sweet bat since the top prospect got the call to the majors, and Casey Schmitt continues to slug it in his super-utility role. They’d love to get Willy Adames going, who is not living up to his massive contract; if he can turn it around, the Giants could boast one of the best lineups in baseball down the stretch.
Colorado’s bats are lagging behind, but have put together some strong stretches. Hunter Goodman continues to slug from the catcher spot, and TJ Rumfield has broken out to look like a legitimate building block for the Rockies. Mickey Moniak is back in the lineup after a long injury layoff, and is finding his form at the plate once again. While the rest of the lineup has struggled on the whole, those three have the talent to carry the lineup on any given night.
Both of these bullpens are struggling in a big way. Colorado and San Francisco are 23rd and 26th in xFIP, respectively. Antonio Senzatela, the longtime Rockies starter, has been excellent out of the ‘pen and will fetch a solid price at the deadline. He’s part of their three-man bullpen core with Jimmy Herget and Brennan Bernardino. The Giants are having a rough time finding consistency out of the bullpen, and manager Tony Vitello is trying to find answers.
Now that we have the rundown of these teams, what is the best way to bet this game?
Rockies vs. Giants pick, best bet
Playing at Oracle Park can certainly depress some runs. But we’ve got one starter throwing batting practice against a resurgent lineup, and another who has to hand off to the coldest bullpen in MLB. I’m expecting a lot of runs between these two teams, even if it the Rockies have to wait to do their damage against the bullpen.
