Saturday night will feature the second of a three-game series between National League foes as the Philadelphia Phillies (19-19) take on the Colorado Rockies (16-23). The Rockies will host this one at Coors Field, with first pitch scheduled for 8:10 pm ET.
The Phillies are the favorites to win this one despite playing on the road. They are -146 to win, while the Rockies’ moneyline sits at +124. The runline features Colorado +1.5 (-118), and the over/under for total runs is 11.5.
Phillies Look For Five In A Row
The Phillies have been surging as of late, winning four in a row, including a 6-3 victory over Colorado on Friday. They will look to win their fifth straight Saturday as they take on the Rockies.
In Friday’s victory, Bryce Harper had a nice night at the dish. He went two for four with two runs batted in and a run scored. Alec Bohm hit his fourth home run of the season, and Kyle Schwarber launched his ninth of the year.
As a team, the Phillies’ offense is averaging 4.32 runs per game, good for 18th in the majors. Philadelphia ranks 21st in scoring defense, allowing opponents an average of 4.97 runs per game.
On the mound Saturday night for the Phillies will be lefty Ranger Suarez. The 27-year-old will be making his first start of the season as he returns from injury. Last season, in 29 starts, he went 10-7 with a 3.65 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and he had 129 strikeouts in 155.1 innings of work.
Rockies Need To Improve At Home
At 16-23, the Rockies already sit dead last in the NL West, eight games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. If they want to stay competitive in the division, they will have to improve at Coors Field, where they are just 7-10 thus far this year.
The Rockies will have 26-year-old righty Ryan Feltner toe the rubber in this one. In seven games, he is 2-2 with a 5.08 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, and he has 33 strikeouts in 33.2 innings. In his last outing, he gave up four runs over 3.1 innings in a no-decision against the New York Mets.
On the offensive side, C.J. Cron leads the way. The slugging first baseman is hitting .231/.282/.431 with a team-leading six home runs and 18 runs batted in. Cron has also homered once in six career at bats versus the Phillies’ Suarez.
Other contributors for the Rockies’ offense include Kris Bryant (5 HR, 13 RBI), Jurickson Profar (5 HR, 15 RBI), and Ryan McMahon (4 HR, 16 RBI).
Take The Phillies To Win On The Road
Looking at the trends, the Phillies are 4-1 in their last five games overall, and they are 9-1 in their last 10 games against the Rockies (stemming back to previous seasons).
As for Colorado, they are 8-3 in their last 11 games and 4-1 in their last five games played at home. They are 11-4 in their last 15 home games against Philadelphia.
This one is a tough one to call. On the one hand, it is hard to predict how Ranger Suarez will throw in his first action of the season. On the other hand, the Rockies Ryan Feltner has not exactly dominated as of late.
With so much uncertainty, take the team that is rolling right now. While Colorado has been strong in their last 10 games, the Phillies are putting together a nice little win streak. Expect them to extend that on Saturday by picking up the road win straight up (-146).
