What better way to enjoy your Sunday with a pair of promising Major League Baseball games.
Our first matchup features an NL West showdown between the Los Angeles Dodgers (87-67) and the Colorado Rockies (65-90) for the final bout of their three-game set at Coors Field. Later on at night, two playoff-bound teams—the Pittsburgh Pirates (95-60) and the Chicago Cubs (89-65)—collide once more for their own series finale at Wrigley Field.
Read on below to get a brief breakdown of these two high-quality games. And if you’re yearning for some football action, indulge yourself with some of our Week 3 previews for the 2015-16 NFL season: Colts vs. Titans, Eagles vs. Jets and Falcons vs. Cowboys.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Colorado Rockies (4:10 PM ET)
Line: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Colorado Rockies – view all MLB lines
[sc:MLB240banner ]Despite taking the loss, Alex Wood (11-11, 3.60 ERA) had a pretty solid outing in his last start versus Arizona on September 22. In that game, he logged in 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball and registered six strikeouts under his belt. The 24-year-old pitcher will be hoping to receive some offense from his teammates when he toes the rubber this afternoon opposite the Colorado Rockies. On the road this season, he is 7-6 with a 3.41 ERA and 1.36 WHIP throughout 19 starts.
Speaking of the Rockies, they will be countering with Chris Rusin (5-9, 5.39 ERA), who’s fresh off a miserable performance against the Pirates Tuesday night. In that game, he yielded six earned runs on eight hits with four walks over four frames for the inevitable 6-3 loss and his ninth defeat. However, a bounce back performance from Rusin seems far-fetched, as he’s been struggling at Coors Field this year, owning a 4-3 record with a 5.31 ERA and .304 opponents’ batting average.
Los Angeles is 3-4 in its previous seven games with Wood starting. Colorado , meanwhile, has lost six of its last 10 contests with Rusin starting.
Writer’s Prediction
The Dodgers (+140) wins, 6-3.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Chicago Cubs (8:05 PM ET)
Line: Pittsburgh Pirates (+190) vs. Chicago Cubs (-220); total: 7.5– view all MLB lines
A.J Burnett (9-5, 3.15 ERA) has been quite efficient in his last three turns, giving up only three or fewer runs in each game and has accumulated 15 K’s through 16 innings of work. The Pirates, though, were only 1-2 in that stretch. Nonetheless, the 38-year-old veteran will continue striving for better results when he gets the nod tonight at Wrigley Field. Against the Cubs, Burnett is 8-4 with a quality 2.93 ERA, a 1.22 WHIP and a .230 opponents’ batting average.
As for the Cubs, they’ll be putting their trust on their ace, Jake Arrieta, who is 20-6 with an unforgiving 1.88 ERA this season. Arrieta is coming off an exceptional outing in his most recent start, tossing nine shutout innings to capture the dominant 4-0 triumph over the Brewers last Tuesday. Across eight career starts versus the Bucs, he is 5-1 with a 1.90 ERA, a .92 WHIP and .199 opponents’ batting average.
Pittsburgh has lost four of its past five games with Cole starting. Chicago, on the other hand, is undefeated in Arrieta’s last 11 starts.
Click here for our full breakdown of this matchup.
Writer’s Prediction
Cubs (-220) win 5-2.
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