According to Fangraphs, the Colorado Rockies (39-49) and the San Diego Padres (41-49) both have less than one percent chance of winning the National League West division and less than three percent of clinching a wild card ticket. Still, there is a lot of baseball left to play in the second half of the season for these two teams to make a run. Read on for a complete preview of the series opener between the Rockies and the Padres this coming Friday.
For more baseball previews, you can click here for Mets vs. Cards and here for Rangers vs. Astros.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Colorado Rockies vs. San Diego Padres Preview
Where: Petco Park, San Diego
When: Friday, July 17, 2015, 10:10 PM ET
Line: Colorado Rockies vs. St. San Diego Padres – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Colorado Rockies
[sc:MLB240banner ]The Rockies finished the first half exactly where most people expected them to be at this juncture of the season: dead last in the National League West. And that’s despite the Rockies’ recent four-game sweep of Atlanta, where they outscored the Braves, 24-11.
The offense that the Rockies displayed in the Atlanta series, however, isn’t surprising, given Colorado’s proficiency at the plate when playing at home. In fact, the Rockies are No. 1 in the NL in home batting average (.305), on-base percentage (.356) and slugging percentage (.484). Their next game, however, is on the road, where Colorado had a dismal collective triple-slash of .236/.283/.384 in the first half.
Still, Jorge De La Rosa (6-3, 4.34 ERA) is hoping that his teammates will be there to back him up when he makes his third start this season against San Diego. In two starts against the Padres this year, De La Rosa has compiled head-shaking numbers of a 0-2 record and a 12.86 ERA. That said, De La Rosa has been pitching well of late, coming up with a 2-0 record a 1.88 ERA over his last four starts. He’s also been getting an average of 5.87 RS/9–second most among NL starters.
Speaking of offense, the trio of Charlie Blackmon, DJ LeMahieu, and Nick Hundley have all been raking at the plate of late. Blackmon is 13-for-27 (.481) over his last six games. LeMahieu has hit .478 in his last six games, while Hundley is .450 in his last five.
Colorado is 8-2 in De La Rosa’s last 10 starts overall.
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Betting on the San Diego Padres
Although they ended the first half with back-to-back wins over Texas, the Padres can’t hide the fact that they’re a colossal disappointment thus far this season. It’s a saddening predicament for the Padres, who acquired one big name player after another back in the offseason only to win just as many games as they did at this point of the season last year.
The Padres will look to have a far better performance in the second half, beginning on Friday when they give the ball to ace James Shields (7-3, 4.01 ERA). Shields, though, has been in a funk since June. Dating back to his start in the Padres’ 6-5 loss to Atlanta on June 9, Shields has gone 0-3 with a 4.79 ERA across seven starts. That horrible stretch by Shields and his rough couple of outings against Colorado this season are something that’ll keep the Padres worried heading into the series opener against the Rockies.
Shields is lucky to have a 1-0 record in two starts against Colorado this season, considering that he allowed eight runs in 12 total innings of work opposite the Rockies. And that’s thanks to the Padres’ offense who gave him ample run support to work on. This time around, Shields will count on his teammates anew to give him enough wiggle room.
San Diego hitters’ eyes must have lit up the moment they knew De La Rosa would be pitching again against them. As mentioned, De La Rosa is winless in two starts against the Padres, who absolutely crushed him the last time he set foot at Petco Park. Against the Padres on April 20, De La Rosa had a nightmarish two-inning outing, giving up seven runs on nine hits. Overall, the current Padres lineup has a collective .387 batting average against the Rockies’ lefty.
San Diego is 4-0 in its last four home games against the Rockies.
Writer’s Prediction
San Diego wins, 6-3.
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