jimmythegreek
The opening odds start here
San Francisco/Colorado over 5.5 -120:
The Giants (68-70) sit in 4th place in the NL West trailing the first place Dodgers by 7.5 games with 24 left to play. After losing two of three to the Mets over the weekend, SF begins a 6 day road trip in Colorado (74-62) for a 3 game series. The Rockies meanwhile,remain a half a game back after splitting a 4 game weekend series with San Diego. Despite getting outscored this season, Colorado remains well in contention for their first postseason appearance since 2009. Given the high turnover of three teams battling for the division title, San Francisco has managed to stick around but basically on the fringes of realistic elimination. Much of the Rockies success is credited to their 40-32 record away from Coors Field. Trading Andrew McCutchen to the Yankees could be the final signal that the Giants have officially waived the white flag when it comes to their dim postseason hopes.
The Rockies send Tyler Anderson (6-7 4.79) to the hill this afternoon who has lost his last 3 starts and is winless since July 4th. The 28 year old third year southpaw has a 15.13 ERA over that stretch and in his last outing was crucified by the Cardinals for 6 earned over 2/3 of an inning in a 12-3 loss to St Louis. Anderson faces a Giants lineup that is hitting just .242 overall averaging only 3.9 runs per contest and second worst in the NL to Miami with 117 HR. San Francisco has failed to score more than 4 runs in a game in 6 of the last 7. Buster Posey (.284 5 41) is out for the season after undergoing hip surgery with an uncertain future behind the plate. Evan Longoria (.244 15 46) has a 3 game hitting streak but hasn't had an ideal season out west due to multiple injuries and inefficiency against NL pitching. Brandon Belt (.259 14 46) is just 2 for his last 20 (.100) despite matching productivity numbers of a season ago. Brandon Crawford (.260 12 49) has hit safely in 5 of his last 7 but is listed as day-to-day with a left knee injury. Gorkys Hernandez (.246 12 37) figures to be the every day center fielder because Steven Duggar is out for the season with a shoulder injury.
The Giants counter with Madison Bumgarner (5-5 2.68) who due to a lack of run support and some hard luck could easily be a 10 game winner even after missing significant time to due injury. The 29 year old 10 year veteran southpaw hurled 7 quality innings last week of 4 hit ball against Arizona but earned a no-decision in a 1-0 Giants win. He faces a Rockies lineup batting .253 overall averaging 4.7 runs per contest with 167 HR ranking 4th in the NL. Nolan Arenado (.301 31 92) snapped a recent 0 for 18 slump with 4 hits in his last 2 games. The third baseman has pretty much carried this Rockies club thus far and is a legitimate candidate for MVP. Trevor Story (.293 26 87) has a 3 game hitting streak (.500), all multi-hit contests, and is second to Arenado in productivity. Charlie Blackmon (.276 23 57) has hit safely in his last 3 (.400) despite power and production significantly down from last season due to a subpar second half. Ian Desmond(.230 20 77) is just 4 for his last 24 (.167) despite third on the team in RBI. DJ Lemahieu (.270 13 47) is just 1 for his last 22 (.045) Carlos Gonzalez (.287 15 56) has cooled off a bit since a 7 game hitting streak.
We get a fairly expensive price this afternoon at Coors Field, which even as of today 23 years after it opened remains the cornerstone of homers in the NL given it's high altitude. While it's no slouch straight away at 415 feet and about 350 to the corners, the Rockies have packed plenty of punch over the years given their potent lineup, something even humidors couldn't slow down on a regular basis, If Anderson hopes to remain in the rotation, he needs to find his winning ways against a dormant Giants offense looking to break out this afternoon. Bumgarner has been sharp but could have a challenge ahead of him today as he tries to keep Colorado at bay with hopes of providing one last outside push for the postseason.
I'll have another Labor Day play later this afternoon.
The Giants (68-70) sit in 4th place in the NL West trailing the first place Dodgers by 7.5 games with 24 left to play. After losing two of three to the Mets over the weekend, SF begins a 6 day road trip in Colorado (74-62) for a 3 game series. The Rockies meanwhile,remain a half a game back after splitting a 4 game weekend series with San Diego. Despite getting outscored this season, Colorado remains well in contention for their first postseason appearance since 2009. Given the high turnover of three teams battling for the division title, San Francisco has managed to stick around but basically on the fringes of realistic elimination. Much of the Rockies success is credited to their 40-32 record away from Coors Field. Trading Andrew McCutchen to the Yankees could be the final signal that the Giants have officially waived the white flag when it comes to their dim postseason hopes.
The Rockies send Tyler Anderson (6-7 4.79) to the hill this afternoon who has lost his last 3 starts and is winless since July 4th. The 28 year old third year southpaw has a 15.13 ERA over that stretch and in his last outing was crucified by the Cardinals for 6 earned over 2/3 of an inning in a 12-3 loss to St Louis. Anderson faces a Giants lineup that is hitting just .242 overall averaging only 3.9 runs per contest and second worst in the NL to Miami with 117 HR. San Francisco has failed to score more than 4 runs in a game in 6 of the last 7. Buster Posey (.284 5 41) is out for the season after undergoing hip surgery with an uncertain future behind the plate. Evan Longoria (.244 15 46) has a 3 game hitting streak but hasn't had an ideal season out west due to multiple injuries and inefficiency against NL pitching. Brandon Belt (.259 14 46) is just 2 for his last 20 (.100) despite matching productivity numbers of a season ago. Brandon Crawford (.260 12 49) has hit safely in 5 of his last 7 but is listed as day-to-day with a left knee injury. Gorkys Hernandez (.246 12 37) figures to be the every day center fielder because Steven Duggar is out for the season with a shoulder injury.
The Giants counter with Madison Bumgarner (5-5 2.68) who due to a lack of run support and some hard luck could easily be a 10 game winner even after missing significant time to due injury. The 29 year old 10 year veteran southpaw hurled 7 quality innings last week of 4 hit ball against Arizona but earned a no-decision in a 1-0 Giants win. He faces a Rockies lineup batting .253 overall averaging 4.7 runs per contest with 167 HR ranking 4th in the NL. Nolan Arenado (.301 31 92) snapped a recent 0 for 18 slump with 4 hits in his last 2 games. The third baseman has pretty much carried this Rockies club thus far and is a legitimate candidate for MVP. Trevor Story (.293 26 87) has a 3 game hitting streak (.500), all multi-hit contests, and is second to Arenado in productivity. Charlie Blackmon (.276 23 57) has hit safely in his last 3 (.400) despite power and production significantly down from last season due to a subpar second half. Ian Desmond(.230 20 77) is just 4 for his last 24 (.167) despite third on the team in RBI. DJ Lemahieu (.270 13 47) is just 1 for his last 22 (.045) Carlos Gonzalez (.287 15 56) has cooled off a bit since a 7 game hitting streak.
We get a fairly expensive price this afternoon at Coors Field, which even as of today 23 years after it opened remains the cornerstone of homers in the NL given it's high altitude. While it's no slouch straight away at 415 feet and about 350 to the corners, the Rockies have packed plenty of punch over the years given their potent lineup, something even humidors couldn't slow down on a regular basis, If Anderson hopes to remain in the rotation, he needs to find his winning ways against a dormant Giants offense looking to break out this afternoon. Bumgarner has been sharp but could have a challenge ahead of him today as he tries to keep Colorado at bay with hopes of providing one last outside push for the postseason.
I'll have another Labor Day play later this afternoon.
