At last, the San Francisco Giants are going to take on a sub-.500 team for the first time since August 5, as the defending champions begin a four-game set against the National League West bottom-feeders, Colorado Rockies. This is no reason for the Giants to rejoice, however, as Colorado is a very dangerous team to face in Mile High City. Will Ryan Vogelsong tame the Rockies’ offense? Or will Nolan Arenado and company put on a show at the plate later tonight?
Read on for a detailed preview of this game. You can also click here for an overview of the AL and NL wild card races.
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San Francisco Giants vs. Colorado Rockies Preview
Where: Coors Field, Denver
When: Thursday, September 3, 2015, 8:40 PM ET
Line: San Francisco Giants (-135) vs. Colorado Rockies (+125); total: 11.0 –view all MLB lines
Betting on the San Francisco Giants
[sc:MLB240banner ]Ryan Vogelsong (9-10, 4.19 ERA)had another rough go in his last start, a 6-0 loss at the hands of St. Louis on August 29. Against the Cards, Vogelsong surrendered four earned runs on seven hits and issued three free passes in just 4.2 innings.
For those keeping count, Vogelsong has now allowed seven runs, 14 hits, and seven walks across eight frames over his last two starts. Scheduled to make his next start inside the unforgiving Coors Field stadium, Vogelsong would definitely need the Giants’ offense to back him up.
Vogelsong, however, turned in a strong performance in his last start in Coors Field, allowing zero runs and two hits in six innings of work in San Francisco’s 11-8 win back in May 22.
Still, there will be pressure for the likes of Buster Posey and Brandon Belt to continue hitting well in Mile High City. Thus far this season, Posey is 6-for-20 (.300) with two doubles and four RBIs at Coors Field. Belt, on the other hand is 9-for-21 (.429) with a homer and six runs driven to home plate. Moreover, the Giants are third in the league in batting average (.272) against lefties, which is something they will carry when they face Colorado starter, Chris Rusin later tonight.
San Francisco went 2-0 in its last two games against the Rockies with both games played at AT&T Park.
Whether Vogelsong admits it or not, it’s fair to say that he doesn’t like the idea of pitching at Coors Field because the Rockies are a completely different animal on offense whenever they’re at home. Furthermore, Vogelsong doesn’t have good overall numbers in his career when pitching in Denver, as he keeps a towering 6.63 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, and .292 opponents’ batting average, albeit with a 3-3 record, in 10 appearances there.
With that said, DJ LeMahieu, Nolan Arenado, and Wilin Rosario will look to punish Vogelsong anew when they face the 38-year-old righty later tonight. Although LeMahieu is just 3-for-14 in his career against Vogelsong, he nonetheless is batting .393/.430/.823 at home this season. Arenado is 4-for-10 (.400) with a couple of dingers off Vogelsong, while Rosario is 5-for-14 (.357) with three of those hits counted as homers.
Vogelsong’s shaky performance in Denver and the Rockies offense at home (.300 BA—No. 1 in the majors) must be music to the ears of starter Chris Rusin (4-7, 4.94 ERA), who is eager to pick up a victory following back-to-back losses. In his latest outing, Rusin allowed three runs on five hits in six innings of work in a 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh on August 29. Prior to that start, Rusin was absolutely blown to pieces by the Mets’ offense, as the lefty allowed 11 earned runs in just two innings in a 14-9 setback at home.
Rusin, who gets 5.50 worth of runs per nine innings pitched, is 3-2 with a 5.06 ERA over eight home starts this season.
Colorado is 2-0 in its last two home games against the Giants.
