Colorado keeps finding ways to win and is the hottest team in baseball. Not even the All-Star break and falling behind Arizona a couple of times on Friday could deter them. Tonight, they will look to leapfrog the Diamondbacks for second place in the NL West behind the Dodgers.
- The Rockies are 14-3 SU and 11-6 ATS in their last 17 games.
- Seven straight Kyle Freeland starts have hit the UNDER (avg. combined score 6.86).
- Arizona has hit 36 home runs vs left-handed pitching in 2018.
To see the Rockies-Diamondbacks matchup page, click here.
Who Will Blink First? Both Pitchers Have Been Great Lately
The southpaw Kyle Freeland (8-6, 3.11 ERA) has pitched at least five innings in 17 of his 19 starts in 2018. Freeland’s only loss since May 23 was on June 10 vs Arizona at Coors Field. In that outing, he gave up four earned runs on four hits over six innings while walking four batters. In six starts since that loss, Freeland has allowed a combined eight earned runs over 37.1 innings. In his three July starts, Freeland is 1-0 with a WHIP of 1.15 and an OBA of .219.
Zack Godley (11-6, 4.61 ERA) has gotten stronger as the season progresses and is 5-1 in his last six starts. Godley deals with a lot of baserunners and has had trouble at times with walk totals. His 53 walks through 105.1 innings contribute to his inflated 1.53 WHIP. With Colorado’s .303 July batting average, extra base runners could be toxic for Godley. The Diamondbacks and Godley have history on their side though, Arizona is 4-0 SU in Godley’s four career starts vs the purple and black.
Score 10? We’ll Put Up 11
The Rockies offense was put to the test in the series opener as Arizona put 10 runs on the scoreboard at Chase Field, partly thanks to some VERY sloppy defensive play by Colorado. Of course, Nolan Arenado was a part of the offensive attack with two home runs and four RBIs, but the hero on the day was Raimel Tapia who had a pinch-hit grand slam. That’s just another example of how it’s a "next guy up" mentality on the Rockies bench as of late.
In July, Colorado has hit 23 home runs in just 14 games scoring 90 runs, or an average of 6.43 runs per game. Their .884 July OPS leads the majors ahead of the Yankees’ .853, even though the Yankees have seven more home runs.
The total for tonight’s game is set at 8. The last time Freeland and Godfrey met on June 10, the total was set at 12 and the combined score was 11. Based on last night’s fireworks, OVER may be a value bet tonight.
Diamondbacks Power Hitters Like Lefties
Arizona is tied for second in the National League with 36 home runs against left-handed pitching. Ironically, Colorado leads that category with 51. In addition, the D-Backs have scorched 14 triples off left-handers (1st in MLB), almost twice as many as Colorado, who is the closest National League team in that category with eight.
With all these offensive numbers, it’s no surprise that our consensus data is showing the OVER to be a popular bet tonight. Bettors should take note, however, that four of Arizona’s last five games have hit the UNDER (average combined score 4.5) and seven straight Kyle Freeland starts have hit the UNDER with an average combined score of 6.86.
