The Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks begin a three-game series Friday. The Rockies have become baseball’s hottest team and are in the thick of a tight playoff chase. The Diamondbacks have the second-worst team ERA in the NL and are in last place in their division.
The Rockies are heavily favored in this one paying just -210 in MLB Lines while the run total sits at 9.5 runs.
The Colorado Rockies (76-64, 47-22 home) came back to beat Cincinnati Thursday after trailing 5-0. The winning run came in the eighth inning when shortstop Chris Nelson stole home while Reds pitcher Nick Masset was looking at the ground.
The win over Cincinnati was Colorado’s season-high seventh in a row. They have now won 14 of their last 18 to come within 3.5 games of first place San Diego in the NL West. They also trail Atlanta by 3.5 games for the Wild Card.
The Arizona Diamondbacks (57-83, 22-43 away) have lost in 8 of the last 10 meetings at Coors Field. With 22 games left and the Diamondbacks mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, the focus for them will be playing well enough for interim manager Kirk Gibson to land a full-time job.
Joe Saunders (8-14, 4.56 ERA) will start for the Diamondbacks. He is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in two starts against the Rockies. He will be up against Jorge De La Rosa (6-4, 4.18 ERA). He has won his last three starts against the Diamondbacks and has posted a 0.90 ERA over that stretch.
Immediately following the conclusion of this series, Colorado will be visited by San Diego for a three-game series. With a good performance against the Diamondbacks, the Rockies will have a strong chance to dethrone the Padres as the first place team in the NL West.
