Brandon Morrow (1-0, 2.67 ERA) and Jorge De La Rosa (0-1, 11.57 ERA) take the hill in the second of a three-game series between the San Diego Padres (12-12) and the Colorado Rockies (11-11) at Petco Park. The Padres won the last game 14-3 and San Diego leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 8:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, May. 2 and can be seen on ROOT-RM and FSN-SD.
Morrow is 0-1 with a 4.20 ERA in his appearances against the Rockies, and goes up against a good Colorado offense which is batting .276 this season. Justin Upton (.282, 17 Rs, 6 HRs, 16 RBIs, 3 SBs) had another good game yesterday, going 3 for 4 with three runs, two RBIs, and two stolen bases. De La Rosa is 8-4 with a 4.87 ERA against the Padres in his career. He takes on a quality San Diego offense that’s batting .263. DJ LeMahieu (.417, 5 Rs, 1 HR, 13 RBIs, 1 SB) has been successful at the plate for the Rockies, going 2 for 3 yesterday.
San Diego is a -139 favorite against Colorado and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at seven runs. The Padres have an overall money line of -200 and a record as the favorite of 6-5. San Diego is a disappointing 1-3 as the favorite over its last 10 games. The Padres have no trouble scoring as they rank third in the NL in offense with 4.6 runs per game. The Padres are one of the best in the NL in terms of hits with an impressive 9.0 per game. San Diego’s pitching staff has been doing poorly against opposing offenses during the last 10 games, allowing an average of 6.1 runs per game, well above its season average of 4.7.
In the other locker room, Colorado is coming in with an overall money line of +128 and an impressive record of 8-5 as the dog. They are 5-5 as the underdog against NL West opponents, and 7-8 SU. Offensively, the Rockies have really sputtered in division games. They have decreased their season average of 4.2 runs per game by averaging 3.5 in those contests. The Rockies are tough outs for opponents, leading the NL with 9.8 hits per game. The Rockies allow 5.0 runs per game, but have damaged those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 6.7 runs per game during that span.
The Padres lead the season series, 3-2. The Padres have a 4-2 record against left-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when De La Rosa takes the mound. Morrow (RHP) will be on the hill against the Rockies, who have a 10-9 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – SD, O/U – Over
Notes
In their last game, the Padres won by a margin of 11 runs. The Rockies are 1-2 in games decided by a margin of 10 runs or more. The Padres have a 2-1 record in blowouts.
Colorado has won 43% (3-4) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, San Diego has won 54% (7-6) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Padres are coming into this matchup after a high-scoring game where they scored a whopping 14 runs. The Rockies have a 0-2 record when opponents score that many runs or more.
When they are outhit, the Padres are 0-10. The Rockies have a 1-8 record when opponents outhit them.
Colorado ranks in the top half of the league at 12th when it comes to home runs, hitting 21 this season. San Diego ranks in the top 10 at ninth with 23.
Colorado tops the league in hits with 9.76 per game this season. San Diego ranks in the top five at third with 8.96.
Ranking 10th, San Diego is in the top 10 of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.723). Colorado ranks in the top five at fifth with an OPS of .761.
When the Rockies allow at least one home run, they are 4-9. When the Padres allow one or more homers, they have a 7-10 record.
