Colorado Rockies vs. Washington Nationals Preview
Where: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
When: Sunday, July 30, 2017, 1:35 PM ET
Line: Colorado Rockies at Washington Nationals – view all MLB lines
TV Broadcast: ATT SportsNet-RM, MASN, WUSA 9
Betting on the Colorado Rockies (59-45)
The Colorado Rockies picked up a much-needed victory on Saturday, 4-2, to snap their three-game skid and remain in a relatively good position hanging onto the fifth and final wild card spot in the National League.
Trevor Story, the team’s breakout sensation last year, has not had as impressive a campaign this 2017. However, the standout shortstop appears to be back in fine form, hitting a two-run shot out of the park in Saturday’s win for his third homer in five contests.
While Story’s fellow teammate in Nolan Arenado went 0-for-4 in that contest, the Nationals still have to be wary about his bat this Sunday. The two-time and reigning NL home run leader is hitting .375 with eight homers and 26 runs batted-in over the last 15 games.
The Rockies will also have a terrific starter to kickoff Sunday’s doubleheader in Kyle Freeland (10-7, 3.64 ERA). The 24-year-old rookie picked up his 10th win of the season in last Sunday’s start against the Pirates, and the sensational lefty has just allowed two earned runs to go with 16 strikeouts through his last three starts combined (17.1 innings).
As the offense is turning it up again and a with a dependable starter on tap, Colorado’s definitely well in line to start a win streak anew.
Betting on the Washington Nationals (61-40)
With Friday’s contest against the Rockies having been postponed, the Washington Nationals somehow lost the momentum they had the two games prior, wherein they racked up a total of 23 runs in two wins against the Brewers prior to Saturday’s defeat.
Superstar Bryce Harper, in particular, suddenly went cold. The former NL MVP went 0-for-4 in the loss to snap his 19-game hit streak. Then again, consider the Nationals’ power outage as a rare occurrence. They’re still ranked second in the majors in almost all significant hitting categories such as runs scored, team batting average and on-base percentage.
What’s got to be concerning, on the other hand, is Washington’s starting lineup. Stephen Strasburg was slated to start this Sunday, but an elbow injury will keep him sidelined for the time being and make room for the MLB debut of Erick Fedde. The 24-year-old Fedde was a little league teammate of Harper, but his body of work coming out of Triple-A leaves little to be desired right now.
While having an unproven pitcher is quite a huge concern, the fact remains that the Nats have won three consecutive games versus the Rockies prior to Saturday’s loss. They also haven’t lost a regular-season series since the start of July; a string of six series against the likes of NL contenders Milwaukee and Arizona at that.
Writer’s Prediction
The Rockies take the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader, 5-3.
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