The Colorado Rockies will look to bounce back at home tonight when they host the San Diego Padres in the second game of a three-game set. The Rockies will send out big righty Jon Gray, who has been lights-out since the start of July with a 2.57 ERA over his last six starts, with the Rockies posting victories in each of those games. The Padres counter with rookie hurler Jacob Nix, who got shelled in his last outing and didn’t make it out of the first inning. The Padres opened as large +225 underdogs to steal another game at Coors Field.
- The Rockies are 8-0 SU and 7-1 ATS in their last eight games with Jon Gray as the starter.
- The Rockies are 16-6 SU in their last 22 games at home.
- The UNDER has hit in four of the last five games in this matchup.
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Pitching Matchup Favors the Rockies
Jon Gray has had his ups and downs in 2018 but is starting to show the form that made him such a high draft pick by the Rockies. The right-hander owned a 5.77 ERA in 17 starts prior to his demotion to the minors at the end of June, which seemed to light a fire in him because since then, he owns a 2.57 ERA over six outings. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that the hard-hitting Rockies have won six straight games with Gray on the mound and there’s no “gray” area about it, he’s Colorado’s ace now.
As for the Padres, they’ll hope Jacob Nix can remedy his Jekyll and Hyde ways. In his first appearance in the majors vs Philly, he twirled a six-inning gem and only allowed four hits in a 2-0 victory. But his next start was a dumpster fire when he couldn’t even get out of the first inning and allowed five hits and five earned runs. It’s hard to endorse a Padres wager with that kind of performance hanging over his head.
Coors Field is a Winning Environment for the Rockies
Colorado may be trailing the Diamondbacks for the divisional lead by 1.5 games but given the way the Rockies are playing at home, they may be a tough out in the stretch run of the MLB season. The Rockies are 16-6 SU in their last 22 games at home and are the fifth-highest scoring team at home in MLB and rank third in OPS, first in batting average and seventh in hits. This is only the third time Colorado has been a fave of -200 or more at home this season and it split those two games with Miami.
Is the UNDER in Play in Colorado?
The total opened at 10.5 in this tilt and trends are pointing to an UNDER. The UNDER has hit in four of the last five games in this matchup with an average combined score of 7.2 runs per game. When you factor in the UNDER has hit in 10 of the Rockies’ last 12 games at home with an average combined score of 6.75 runs per game, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the UNDER should be the profitable angle in this matchup.
