Playoff Contenders Collide: Colorado Rockies vs. St. Louis Cardinals

The Colorado Rockies will host the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night to begin a very important three game series. Both teams are in the mix for a playoff spot in the National League. The Cardinals head to Colorado after sweeping the Dodgers in Los Angeles this week. The Colorado Rockies come in winners of six of their last seven games.

The St. Louis Cardinals have climbed to just 2.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central Division. Colorado sits just one game in back of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West. St. Louis holds a one half game lead over the Rockies for the top Wild Card spot in the National League. The St. Louis Cardinals are -108 in the series opener on Friday night.

Cardinals Offense Flying High

The St. Louis Cardinals used a trio of 9th inning home runs to win two of the three games in Los Angeles. Shortstop Paul Dejong hit a game winning two-run homer off of Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen in the series finale. On Monday night both Jedd Gyorko and Matt Carpenter hit homers off Jansen to earn the victory. St. Louis has been scoring a ton of runs this month, and should continue that trend at hitter friendly Coors Field.

Cardinals ace Miles Mikolas will make the start for the Cardinals on Friday night. Mikolas has been terrific in his return to Major League Baseball after a few years pitching in Japan. The right-hander is 13-3 with a 2.80 earned run average through 25 starts this season. He will look to slow down a powerful Rockies lineup in this game.

Arenado Leading Rockies Charge

Perennial All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado has lifted his Rockies team towards the top of the National League. Arenado has hit 30 homers and driven in 88 runs to lead the Rockies in both categories. On Thursday, the Rockies activated veteran Matt Holliday in an effort to create even more offense in the stretch run.

Antonio Senzatela will be tasked with trying to slow down the Cardinals on Friday night. Senzatela has been inconsistent in 2018, coming in with a 4-3 record and a 4.47 earned run average. Senzatela has pitched as both a starter and a reliever for the Rockies this season. The Rockies will need to score plenty of runs in support of the young right-hander.

Cardinals Stay Hot, Beat Rockies

The Colorado Rockies have traditionally been a great team at home, but are just 33-28 at Coors Field this season. The Rockies are catching the Cardinals at the wrong time, but need to pick up a few wins this weekend.

The St. Louis Cardinals are 17-4 in the month of August, and look like the best team in the National League. Their offense has been carried by Matt Carpenter for much of the season, but the whole team has been hitting home runs of late. Look for St. Louis to stay hot and earn a key victory on Friday night. Bet the Cardinals -108 (That line is from Bovada) over the Rockies.