A couple of teams residing in the bottoms of their respective National League divisions will go head-to-head Thursday night when the Washington Nationals entertain the Colorado Rockies. Both will look to get something going, as neither has won a series since these clubs crossed paths at the beginning of the month.
The Rockies (20-23) most recently gave two of three to Pittsburgh, including a 10-5 defeat on Wednesday afternoon. Colorado was the one to come out on top in that early-May bill while hosting Washington. They sit nine games back from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.
Washington (15-30) is struggling mightily. Only Cincinnati has dropped more contests to this point than the Nationals, who haven’t won a series since they visited San Francisco almost a month ago. They’ve posted a 3-7 record over their last ten outings and avoided being swept by the Dodgers with a 1-0 victory Wednesday.
While catcher Keibert Ruiz and designated hitter Nelson Cruz have combined for 17 hits and have averages at or above .400 over the last week, Washington’s key batters have gone cold.
First baseman Josh Bell paces the squad with a .379 on-base percentage, but is hitting .120 over his last 25 trips to the dish. Left fielder Juan Soto isn’t doing that much better, posting a .150 average in his past six games.
Rockies at Nationals Odds
MLB odds have the Rockies favored to get the wheels turning at the home team’s expense. Colorado is -1.5 on the run line at +155, while the Nationals are -188 to cover the spread.
On the moneyline, the Rockies are -108 and Washington the same. The total has been set at 8.5 runs, with the over being -120 and the under -102 at the time of this writing.
MLB betting trends point to the Rockies’ consistent hitting. They’ve put up a .260 average to this point, second to only the New York Mets. First baseman C.J. Cron has been instrumental to the offense, leading Colorado with a .314 average. His on-base plus slugging percentage (.955), RBI (33), and home runs (12) all rank within the league’s top ten.
The pitching hasn’t lined up, however, as the Rockies have the major leagues’ 26th-best unit in terms of ERA (4.71).
Matchup Information
Rockies at Nationals Betting Preview
Patrick Corbin is slated to get the nod on the mound for the hosts. Not much has gone his way up until now, as the left-hander has a 6.60 ERA.
He has a dreadful 0-7 record and has been tagged for five earned runs in both of his most recent outings, against Milwaukee and Houston.
German Marquez, the Rockies righty hurler, can’t say he’s had much better luck on the hill. He, too, has an ERA north of 6.00 and has a 1-3 mark in his last four starts. In six innings of work, he gave up a season-high 11 hits against the Mets last Saturday.
If nothing else, he’s been good for a lengthy outing by today’s standards. He’s gone at least six innings five times this season.
Rockies at Nationals Betting Predictions
With both starting pitchers having subpar showings as of late, this makes for one of the most difficult MLB picks today. The teams are fairly even in terms of offensive and defensive talent, so the team who can take advantage of the other’s poor throwing will come out on top.
Expect to see the bullpens get involved early in this tilt. Corbin will have the tougher go of it, though, being that the Rockies haven’t had much trouble swinging the lumber.
Interestingly enough, the Nats are one of the best teams at the plate, ranking fourth in the majors with a .251 batting average. But the fact that their cornerstones are in such a slump should scare bettors away. If Washington can’t hit, this one doesn’t figure to stay as close as spread’s numbers suggest.
Choose the over when you place your baseball wagers today.
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