ODDS ANALYSIS
The Phillies strung together six straight wins, their longest streak in three years, before falling to the Rockies on Tuesday. A surprising run from a club some predicted would hit triple digits in the loss column this season. However it’s a good idea to shy away from the Phils when they’re on the road where they are just 5-14 following Tuesday’s setback. The Phils were the underdog five times during their win streak and were in the black 6.48 units on the moneyline with the under going 5-1. It was a nice run for the Phils, who are down 3.89 units on the moneyline and 7.2 units on the runline for the year. The over is 6-2-3 in Philadelphia’s last 11 road games and 10-5-4 in away games this season.
An 11-game losing streak during the first month of the season put the Rockies in a deep hole before the season even got under way. It’s a long road back for a team that lacks the starting pitching to sustain any significant winning streaks. Tuesday’s win gave the Rockies a 3-3 record since ending the skid putting them up 1.98 units over that span, however the Rockies are in the red 6.16 units on the moneyline and 4.97 units on the runline for the season. The over is also 4-2 in the six-game run and 19-16-1 overall but just 7-7-1 in 15 home games. There’s a good chance we can see plenty of runs scored on Thursday.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Philadelphia’s Jerome Williams (3-3, 5.02 ERA) allowed three runs – two earned – over five innings in Saturday’s win over Arizona. He pitched around seven hits but didn’t walk a batter with four strikeouts. He’s allowed 14 earned runs in 19.1 innings in four May starts with his ERA ballooning to 5.02.
Williams is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA in four lifetime games versus Colorado giving up 21 hits in 20 innings of work.
Colorado’s Jorge De La Rosa (1-2, 6.56 ERA) held the Dodgers scoreless on two hits and no walks for 7.1 innings before leaving the game with a left groin injury that isn’t thought to be serious. The scoreless outing lowered his ERA three runs from 9.56 to 6.56.
De La Rosa has struggled in his career against the Phils going 2-4 with a 5.67 ERA and 1.39 WHIP in nine appearances, seven starts, covering 39.2 innings.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“I’ve been pitching in this game for a long time. I know what I need to have success. I know I wasn’t pitching good. I know a lot of people were worried about it. But I don’t worry about it at all. I know I’m a better pitcher than I was and I proved that tonight.” – Rockies pitcher Jorge De La Rosa after tossing 7.1 scoreless innings against the Dodgers on Saturday
LIVE BETTING or SITUATIONAL BETTING
When playing in Coors Field it helps to hit the baseball because you never know what can happen. Actually, the same can be said about any ball park. But the free-swinging Rockies haven’t been giving themselves a chance by striking out way too much recently. They fanned 10 times Tuesday against the Phillies setting a club record with their seventh straight game of 10 or more strikeouts. Even with the high number of whiffs recently the Rockies are nowhere near the league leaders, which make this run all the more confusing. Phillies starter Jerome Williams isn’t known as a strikeout pitcher but once the Phils dip into the pen – and they will – several relievers, including set-up man Ken Giles and closer Jonathan Papelbon, are.
PROP TALK
When he’s healthy Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki has proven to be a top offensive threat in baseball. Unfortunately that’s been an issue over the last few seasons and the injury bug came calling again when Tulo was forced to sit the final two games at LA over the weekend with a leg injury. The ailment doesn’t appear to be serious and Tulowitzki was back in the lineup Monday and had an RBI double in Tuesday’s win. His average isn’t as high as we’ve seen and the power numbers are down slightly, but a few days of rest and facing the Phils should make him feel better. Tulo is batting .439 with 13 RBIs in his last 13 games against Philadelphia and will go off for a few hits against Jerome Williams.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Strong starting pitching carried the Phillies to their longest winning streak in three years when they won their sixth straight game to open this four-game series. They got another solid outing from Aaron Harang Tuesday, but defense and the bullpen collapsed as the streak came to an end. The Phils have also showed signs of life at the dish with double digit hits in four straight games. Starter Jerome Williams has struggled in his last four starts and tossing in Coors Field is never good for a pitcher looking to end a rough streak.
There’s only one place to look when discussing the troubles the Rockies have endured. Pitching, or lack of it, has been the reason the Rockies are in last place in the NL West. The club has the worst ERA in baseball and when the offense can’t score more than four runs a game, well you know what happens. They lose games – and a lot of them. Starter Jorge De La Rosa is coming off a brilliant outing tossing 7.1 scoreless against the Dodgers on Saturday, but as the Rockies luck would have it, he injured his groin and had to be lifted. The Rockies will do some damage against an erratic Jerome Williams to get the win.
Colorado 8, Philadelphia 6
The MLB lines for this contest will first be released by BookMaker Sportsbook. Gamble on the game between every half inning with BookMaker’s live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen in the next at-bat or how many runs will be scored in the next inning. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The ballgame pitting the Philadelphia Phillies versus the Colorado Rockies will commence Thursday, May 21, 2015, at 3:10 p.m. ET at Coors Field. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
