In the later portion of tonight’s loaded MLB slate, the Colorado Rockies will take on the St. Louis Cardinals. These teams opened up the series last night, which resulted in a 3-2 win by the Cardinals. Kyle Freeland and Matthew Liberatore will take the ball for their respective squads tonight.
Looking at the odds, the Cardinals enter as narrow -148 favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Rockies are +138 underdogs, with the run total set at O/U 8.5 Runs.
Rockies at Cardinals prediction, preview
The Colorado Rockies enter the day tied for the worst winning percentage in baseball, with a 45-71 record overall. They enter the matchup looking to snap a four-game losing streak and have lost eight of their last 11. On the season overall, the Rockies have gone 61-55 to the run line, and the run total is 54-59-3 to the over/under.
Kyle Freeland will be on the mound for Colorado, making his 21st start of the season. After leading the MLB with 17 losses last year, he enters today’s matchup with a 2-10 record, a 6.81 ERA, a 1.486 WHIP, 21 home runs allowed, and 93 strikeouts tallied across his 108.1 innings pitched. Freeland has faced off against this Cardinals lineup in just 26 at-bats in his career, allowing five hits and tallying five strikeouts in these opportunities.
Colorado is slashing a collective .255/.323/.420 with a .744 OPS on the season. They rank fourth in hits, seventh in total runs, 19th in home runs, and they have tallied the eighth-most strikeouts in the league. TJ Rumfield leads the team with 119 hits on the season, along with 13 home runs and 58 RBI. Hunter Goodman is tied for a National League-leading 33 home runs, along with 66 RBI and 100 total hits on the year. Mickey Moniak, Willi Castro, and Jake McCarthy each have recorded double-digit long balls as well, while Troy Johnston, Kyle Karros, and Ezequiel Tovar also play key roles.
The St. Louis Cardinals enter tonight’s game with a 58-58 overall record, which slots them in third place in the National League Central. They have won four of their past five matchups, including the 3-2 victory over this Rockets team last night. On the season, the Cardinals have gone 62-54 to the run line, and the run total is 54-59-3 to the over/under.
Matthew Liberatore will take the mound for the Cardinals tonight, marking his 23rd start of the season. He enters with a 5-8 record, a 4.97 ERA, a 1.491 WHIP, 19 home runs allowed, and 107 strikeouts tallied across 108.2 innings pitched. He is coming off a scoreless six inning outing against the Blue Jays in his previous start, which was only the second time all season he has escaped a start without allowing a run this year. Liberatore has faced off with this Rockies lineup 18 times in his career, and allowed seven hits and three strikeouts in these opportunities.
At the plate, the Cardinals are slashing .239/.315/.378 with a .693 OPS. St. Louis ranks 21st in hits, 19th in runs, 22nd in home runs, and has tallied the fourth-fewest strikeouts in the league. Alec Burleson leads the team with 125 hits, 18 home runs, and 77 RBI. Jordan Walker is just behind with 124 hits, a team-high 22 home runs, and 81 RBI. JJ Wetherholt and Ivan Herrera have also cracked 100+ hits on the season, while Masyn Winn, Nathan Church, and Jose Fermin also play key roles.
Rockies at Cardinals pick, best bet
The Rockies have largely turned a page to next season already and are limping to the finish line on the year. They have dropped four consecutive games entering this matchup, lost eight of their last 11, and are tied for the worst record in the MLB overall. While the Cardinals have their flaws, there is a level of reliable competence that you can trust on a night-to-night basis over this Colorado roster.
This is especially the case with Kyle Freeland on the mound. He has a 6.81 ERA on the season with 21 home runs allowed. The 33-year-old has especially struggled on the road, with an 8.29 ERA and a .324 opponents’ batting average in these opportunities. Freeland has allowed four or more earned runs in eight of his past 12 starts. While Matthew Liberatore’s 4.97 ERA isn’t overly inspiring, he is coming off a scoreless outing in his previous start and is posting a 3.48 ERA across his past five outings. The Cardinals are 13-9 in the games that he has started this season.
St. Louis is still in the postseason hunt, as they are just 3.5 games back from a Wild Card seed. These are the types of matchups they must capitalize on if they want to make up ground and earn a playoff opportunity. They battled to a 3-2 victory last night, despite being limited to just four total hits. Colorado also has the third-worst bullpen ERA, and don’t expect them to have the same level of success limiting production in the late innings tonight.
Expect the Cardinals to take advantage of the favorable matchup with Freeland on the mound and the vulnerable Rockies’ bullpen. St. Louis must continue to play with a level of desperation to make up ground in the playoff picture, and expect them to capitalize on this opportunity tonight. Expect the talent gap between these two teams to be put on full display and for the Cardinals to put up runs at a rate the Rockies cannot match to cover the 1.5-run line in a strong victory.
Best bet: St. Louis Cardinals -1.5 (+133)
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