Dodgers and Rockies in 3 Way Battle for NL West Title
The Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Dodgers continue a huge three-game series on Tuesday. The Dodgers beat the Rockies 8-2 last night to take first place in the National League West by half a game. Tuesday, September 18 at 10:10 PM ET Dodger Stadium Clear 63°F Wind: 2mph Out to L Odds: Dodgers are -220-moneyline favorites. The total is 7 Under -125.
Freeland wins fourth straight start
Kyle Freeland (15-7, 2.96 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) allowed three earned runs on four hits (one home run) in his last outing. He also had a walk with six strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings in a 10-3 win against the Diamondbacks last Thursday. Freeland improved to 5-0 with a 2.68 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP in his last seven starts. The Rockies have scored 703 runs (10th in the majors). They are putting up 4.69 runs per game (10th). The offense is hitting .256 (8th) with 187 home runs (11th). Colorado ranks 21st with a 4.48 ERA, 19th with a 1.32 WHIP. They are 13th with 1294 strikeouts. Their bullpen ranks 26th with a 4.70 ERA. Nolan Arenado leads the Rockies with a .297 batting average, 34 home runs and a .377 OBP. He is second on the team with 101 RBI. Trevor Story has 33 home runs and a team-best 102 RBI. Charlie Blackmon has 26 home runs, 64 RBI and a team-best 165 hits.Kershaw wins fifth straight decision
Clayton Kershaw (8-5, 2.51 ERA, 1.01 WHIP) gave up four runs (three earned) on eight hits (one home run) last time out. He also had two walks with eight strikeouts over six innings in a 9-7 win against the Cardinals last Thursday. Kershaw has pitched well at home, posting a a 2.70 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP in 12 starts at Dodgers Stadium. He’s 3-0 with a 2.44 ERA and an 0.90 WHIP in his last seven starts. The Dodgers have scored 727 runs (5th in the majors). They are putting up 4.81 runs per game (6th), hitting .247 (17th) with 215 home runs (2nd). Los Angeles ranks 2nd with a 3.44 ERA, 2nd with a 1.17 WHIP and 3rd with 1451 strikeouts. Their bullpen ranks 12th with a 3.77 ERA. Max Muncy leads the Dodgers with 33 home runs and is third on the team with 68 RBI. Cody Bellinger, Yasmani Grandal and Joc Pederson have 23 home runs each.
MLB Trends:
The Colorado Rockies are: 10-1 in Freeland’s last 11 starts against a team with a winning record 5-1 in Freeland’s last six road starts 20-6 in Freeland’s last 26 starts 21-8 in Freeland’s last 29 starts following a Quality Start in his last appearanceThe Los Angeles Dodgers are:
No key trends I’m leaning towards the Rockies in the 1st 5 innings. Kyle Freeland has a stellar 2.70 ERA over his last six starts. He’s limited the Dodgers to six earned runs in 19 1/3 innings this season. The current Rockies roster is hitting a combined .261 against Clayton Kershaw and Nolan Arenado. Charlie Blackmon and DJ LeMahieu are all hitting .294 or more against him. MLB Pick: Rockies 1st 5 innings +215 at Jazz Sports Check odds here: https://goo.gl/dVwAAb Odds as seen on ESPN Chalk: https://ac.topaffiliates.net/adcenter?bannercode=JAZZ000&affiliatecode=0CB7FE&campaign=0&p=h