Diamondbacks vs. Rockies Odds, Preview, Prediction: Can Colorado Continue To Cruise At Coors? (Friday, August 20)

Diamondbacks vs. Rockies Odds

When we get to this point in the season — where some teams are jockeying for playoff position, while others are just focusing on player development and the upcoming offseason — picking games gets a bit more nuanced.

This contest, between two teams that have no reasonable shot at the postseason, could serve as a microcosm for why neither found as much success as they could have during the 2021 campaign, but could also highlight their relative strengths … at least for one of the sides.

Let’s start with the Diamondbacks, who have been historically bad in away games this season: The team set a new MLB record by losing an astounding 24 road contests in a row from the end of April to the end of June. Obviously, things can’t get much worse than that, but they’ve still lost 13 of their 17 away games since then.

From an ATS perspective, it’s not much better: Arizona is 25-34 against the number in road games, tied for the second-worst mark in the league. In the six previous games they played in Denver, they won just once SU and covered the number twice.

The D'backs will be looking to reverse their fortunes on the mound by starting Tyler Gilbert, who became one of the feel-good stories of the season after throwing a no-hitter in his first career start last time out. As much as you want to root for his continued success, pitching at Coors Field is a whole different ball game (pun intended). It sometimes takes an adjustment period before even some of the game’s best hurlers get used to playing at altitude.

One pitcher who has thrived in the thin air is Colorado starter Austin Gomber. While the 27-year-old’s general stats don’t inspire a ton of confidence (9-7, 4.09 ERA), his home stats tell an entirely different story — he shows a 5-1 record to go along with a 1.70 ERA and 0.85 WHIP. He allowed three runs in a home start just once, and has posted shutouts in three starts, including two against the vaunted Padres' offense.

And while this won’t show up on the stat sheet, it’s also worth noting that Gomber recently became a father and this will be his first start since returning from the paternity list. In the past, we’ve seen players put up epic performances with their newfound dad strength, like when Mike Trout hit seven home runs in nine games after becoming a father last season.

Besides that, the Rockies are just a really good home team in general, posting a 41-21 record, which improves to 22-5 when they’re given home favorite status. Additionally, they’re 15-12 ATS as a home favorite. Several Rockies hitters, including Charlie Blackmon, have been seeing the ball really well lately, too.

Both teams come into this matchup with positive momentum after sweeping likely playoff teams, so something’s gotta give. Given all the supporting evidence above, as well as the fact that they won’t have to travel and are catching steam in the betting markets, we’ll side with Colorado to cruise here with a run line play of -1.5 at -105.

Pick: Rockies -1.5 (-105)