D-Backs on a Roll
After the Arizona Diamondbacks matched their longest win streak in nearly five years, manager Bob Melvin said he doesn’t even like talking about the run anymore. It’s safe to say Colorado Rockies manager Clint Hurdle likes talking about it even less.
The Diamondbacks look to complete their third straight three-game sweep – and their second against the Rockies in that stretch – as the NL West rivals close their series at Chase Field on Sunday.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made Arizona –114 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 9.5 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 50% of bets for this game have been placed on Colorado +104 (View MLB Bet Percentages). Bet this game.
After dropping two of three games in its season-opening series at Cincinnati, Arizona (9-2) has won eight straight – all against division rivals. Five of those victories have come against Colorado (4-7), the team that swept Arizona in the NL Championship Series in October.
The Diamondbacks have outscored their opponents 61-21 during the streak – their longest since they won 12 in a row from June 18-30, 2003.
"I don’t even like to talk about it anymore," Melvin said after Saturday’s 10-3 victory over the Rockies. "We just seem to be scoring runs and doing it in bunches, hitting homers, getting big hits. It’s nice to see."
It hasn’t been as nice for the struggling Rockies, who have been outscored 38-10 in losing their first five games against the Diamondbacks.
"Everything is in sync for the Diamondbacks right now," Hurdle said. "They’re a good ball club, and they’re clicking. Us, on the other hand, we’re not able to put the pitching, the hitting and the fielding together for any consistency."
Overall, Colorado is averaging only 3.0 runs and has a staff ERA of 5.06 just months after making its first World Series appearance. The Rockies matched the Diamondbacks with nine hits Saturday, but went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position in the loss, dropping their season average in those situations to a league-worst .180.
"Every defeat carries sting," Hurdle said. "We’re well aware of the fact you can’t just kick games away in April. We want to play better, we need to play better and we will play better."
To get back on track, Colorado may have to slow down Arizona outfielder Justin Upton, who’s 15-for-31 with four home runs and 10 RBIs during the club’s win streak, including 10-for-21 with four homers and eight RBIs against the Rockies.
"When you talk about what the upside of this guy is and the kind of player he’s going to be down the road, I think you’re getting a little glimpse of it," said Melvin, whose club has homered in all but one game this season for a major league-leading total of 21.
The Rockies will turn to Aaron Cook (0-1, 3.46 ERA) to try to cool Arizona’s offense. In his last outing, the right-hander held Atlanta to one run and two hits in seven innings of Colorado’s 2-1 victory on Monday.
Cook went 1-0 with a 5.63 ERA in four starts against Arizona last season.
He’ll match up against Arizona right-hander Edgar Gonzalez (0-0, 1.80), who held the Rockies to one run and six hits in five innings on Sunday. The Diamondbacks won that game 5-2 in 10 innings.
Gonzalez is 2-2 with a 7.29 ERA in nine career games – three starts – against the Rockies.
Here are some top trends for today’s matchup:
-ARIZONA is 5-0 (+5.4 Units) against COLORADO this season
-ARIZONA is 8-0 (+8.5 Units) against the money line against division opponents this season.
-COOK is 5-16 (-12.0 Units) against the money line in day games over the last 2 seasons. (Team’s Record)
by: Dave Michaels – thespread.com – Email Us
More MLB Baseball coverage from theSpread.com
– MLB news wire
– Current MLB Injuries
– 2007 MLB standings
– 2007 MLB schedule
– 2007 MLB Umpire sheet
– 2007 MLB stats
– MLB scoreboard
– Expert MLB picks
– Accuscore predictions
– Comments and discussion
– Signup for theSpread.com daily newsletter
– MLB home
