Bryan Power – Sports Handicapper

8* Colorado (3:10 ET): The Rockies are facing the prospect of getting swept in a four-game series in their home ballpark. They and the Giants played a doubleheader Monday and while the second game was certainly close (lost 2-1), the first was most definitely NOT (lost 19-2). Last night was closer than the 8-4 final suggests as the game went into extra innings after a three-run Colorado rally in the bottom of the ninth. But still, they gave up four runs in the 10th and lost for the fourth time in the last five games. I can't see the Rockies being swept though. Not by the Giants. 

You do have to expect the hitting will start to improve for Colorado. They average 6.6 runs per game here at Coors, the highest scoring average at home of any team in baseball, which is not surprising given the repuatation of the park itself. Today, they face a rookie (Shaun Anderson) that will be pitching for the very first time in Coors. It's not as if Anderson's numbers are all that impressive as he's got 6.13 ERA and 1.772 WHIP his L3 starts, even though the Giants have won all three games. Their scoring is due to subside here as they rank 28th in batting average and 27th in OPS.

Jon Gray gives his team what I feel is a sizable edge today. He's actually 4-1 w/ a 3.26 ERA in eight home starts, which is very good all things considered. The team's record in those eight starts is 6-2 and seven of them have actually stayed Under. Gray's last start was here in Coors and was a quality one as he held the Reds to two runs in seven innings. He also beat Clayton Kershaw here, 5-3, late last month in another quality effort. Gray has faced the Giants twice this season, both times in San Francisco, and allowed only one run and nine hits in 12 2/3 IP. 8* Colorado

10* Under Tigers/Indians (7:05 ET): Cleveland is a massive ML favorite here and why wouldn't they be? After an 8-0 shutout last night, they are now 10-1 against the Tigers in 2019 and there's no reason to believe the home team won't win again tonight. Detroit is a truly wretched outfit this season as their poor 29-61 record only begins to tell the story of a team that has been outscored by 169 runs. They are dead last in all of baseball in runs scored. I can't possibly play Cleveland at the current price, but I can play the Under and will! 

Now some of you may recall that I played the Over in Monday's series opener. That game ended up being an 8-6 final. So the Indians have scored eight runs in both games so far, but I'm looking for a lower offensive output today. Spencer Turnbull starts tonight for the Tigers and he's actually been one of their better pitchers, particularly on the road where his ERA is 3.14. Seven of Turnbull's nine road starts have stayed Under. He allowed only two runs on five hits the last time he pitched here at Progressive Field.

The Tigers have been shutout nine times this year, four by the Indians and incredibly three of those four shutouts have come in Turnbull starts! It figures to be another long night at the plate for the visitors as they are to face Mike Clevinger, a 200+ strikeout pitcher from a year ago who has a 0.53 ERA and 0.706 in three home starts this season. He's allowed just one run and six hits in those three starts, which have spanned 17 IP. Not only were the Tigers shut out last night, they had only one hit. There's no reason to believe they'll do much offensively tonight and the Indians should have this one wrapped up w/o having to play the bottom of the ninth. 10* Under Tigers/Indians

8* Under Giants/Rockies (3:10 ET): I've had some success playing totals at Coors Field over the last week. Given the reputation of the ballpark, you'd figure I'd be inclined to bet the Over and that's precisely what I did w/ last week's top O/U release as the Rockies and Reds combined for 26 runs here (Rockies LOST 19-7). But the Rockies haven't done much scoring in their current series, totaling only seven runs in three games against the Giants. As a result, they're 0-3, including an 8-4 loss last night. I'm on the Under today as the Rockies look to avoid the sweep.

Last night's final score is misleading in the sense that the game went to extra innings (Giants scored 4 in the 10th) and was a 2-1 game heading into the 8th. The Rockies tied things up at 4-4 w/ a three-run ninth, but it was not to be as they lost for a third time in two days to San Francisco. The teams played a doubleheader Monday w/ the Giants winning 19-2 and 2-1. So as you can see, Colorado really hasn't done much scoring. Until the ninth inning yday, they'd scored only four runs in 26 innings against Giants pitching. Yet the total is still really high today. 

The good news for Colorado today is that they have Jon Gray on the mound. He has a 4-1 record and 3.26 ERA in eight starts at Coors this season, which is quite respectable. It's not like the Giants have a strong lineup. Game 1 of the doubleheader on Monday was a complete aberration. While there's been a recent increase in scoring, they still rank 28th in batting average and 27th in OPS. The Under is 7-1 in those eight home starts made by Gray as well. Facing a rookie making his Coors debut (Shaun Anderson), the Rockies will probably score more today. But not enough to send this one Over. 8* Under Giants/Rockies