The Colorado Rockies are making another one of their patented September surges and will be favorites at the MLB betting window this afternoon versus the Reds.
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As the saying goes “There’s no place like home” and there’s no better example of that axiom than the Colorado Rockies who go for a sweep of the National League Central Division leading Reds in the finale of a four-game series.
Colorado improved to 46-22 at Coors Field with a 9-2 victory over the Reds on Wednesday night. Troy Tulowitzki slugged a pair of homers and knocked in four runs but the win proved costly as Aaron Cook suffered a season-ending broken leg when Joey Votto’s comebacker took him out in the sixth inning.
It was the Rockies' sixth straight win to match a season high, and it was their fifth victory in their last six Denver engagements. Colorado (75-64) remains 4 ½-games behind Atlanta in the NL wild-card race and 4 ½ behind San Diego in the battle for the West Division crown.
Cincinnati (79-60), despite a season high four-game losing streak, still owns a six-game lead on the second-place Cardinals.
The theme song for today’s baseball betting preview should be “Stayin’ Alive,” a hit for the Bee Gees in the 1970’s, a tune that should be dedicated to Jim Tracy and the Rockies. Flash back to 2007 when Colorado won 14 of its final 15 regular-season games, including the unforgettable wild-card tiebreaker when they scored three times in the 13th off Trevor Hoffman for a 9-8 victory against the Padres. The Rockies became only the seventh team in MLB history to rally from at least nine games below .500 (18-27) to earn a postseason opportunity, and only the third to advance to the World Series.
They climbed over the Dodgers, Padres and Mets in the wild-card race that year, beating the Dodgers seven times in seven games and the Padres four times in four games. They’ll need a similar finish this season to set up “Rocktober, Part 2,” but I wouldn’t bet against them pulling it off.
Colorado is 6-2 this month, continuing a pattern of success in the final month of the season. It’s a trend opponents know all too well and one that sharp bettors have taken advantage of. The Rockies went 20-9 in the final month of the 2009 campaign and 21-8 in 2007, making the playoffs both times.
Get the Rookies as 130 favorites at Bodog.com
While they qualify as a near ‘lock’ at Coors Field, the road has been a much different story where they’ve struggled to a 29-42 slate. Of their remaining 10 road games, the Rockies will play three in LA, three in Arizona and then wrap up the season with a four-game series in St. Louis. The Dodgers and Diamondbacks will definitely be playing the role of spoilers and the Cardinals might be as well, depending on how things play out within the Central Division.
The Reds send Travis Wood (5-2, 3.19) to the hill in today's series finale. In his last start, the 23-year-old lefthander stymied the Cardinals 6-1 allowing just five hits and one unearned run in his seven inning stint. If Wood is to be successful today, he’ll need to slow down Carlos Gonzalez.
Gonzalez is a legitimate Triple Crown threat who leads the NL in batting (.340) and RBIs (100), and with 32 home runs is just four behind NL leader Albert Pujols. Gonzo is also in the midst of a career-best 16-game hitting streak in which he’s hit seven homers, knocked in 21 runs and is hitting .516.
Overall, Team Tracy is putting up six runs per game and hitting over .300 during the past week.
The Rockies will send Jason Hammel (10-7, 4.25) to the bump as he looks to contain Votto, who like Gonzalez, is wreaking havoc on NL pitchers in more ways than one. Votto, who also has a shot at the Triple Crown, is hitting .326 with 99 RBI’s and is tied with Gonzalez for second in the league in home runs.
Bodog opened the Rockies as 130 favorites with a total of 8½ popping up at several shops, including TheGreek.com and 5Dimes. The Reds have been one of the better run line bets in baseball going 78-61 for +17.95 units. Pinnacle has them at +1½, -170.
Cincinnati is now 6-22 in its last 28 meetings in Colorado and 5-20 overall. As our previous SBR baseball previews have documented, the Rockies haven’t lost much at home and are on a current streak of 30-10. They’ve also gone 20-6 in Hammel’s last 26 starts on Blake Street.
Game time is 3:10 pm ET and the weather is expected to be downright delightful with temperatures in the 70’s, clear skies and a light breeze.