Two interleague teams will meet and cap off their quick two-game set as the Colorado Rockies face the Oakland Athletics. The Rockies won last night’s series opener by the score of 8-3 and will now look to do it once again.
Today’s pitching matchup is a good one, with German Marquez going for Colorado and Frankie Montas going out there for Oakland. Both guys looked solid in their season openers and will look to take that momentum and lead their team to victory today.
Colorado Rockies at Oakland Athletics
RingCentral Coliseum – Oakland, CA – 3:30 p.m. EST
Starting Pitchers:
COL: German Marquez – R (0-1, 1.59 ERA/0.88 WHIP this season)
OAK: Frankie Montas – R (0-0, 2.25 ERA/1.50 WHIP this season)
Odds & Betting lines (According to DraftKings)
Total: 7.5 runs | Over: -120 | Under: -103
COL | Moneyline: +125 | Run Line (+1.5): -175
OAK | Moneyline: -148 | Run Line (-1.5): +145
Injury List
COL: Tim Collins (CV), Scott Oberg (IL)
OAK: none
Interesting Stats
Familiar Footing
Marquez and Montas have only faced each other once before – it came on this same day two years ago. It was Marquez coming away with the win, allowing only five hits and two runs while striking out eight over 7 2/3 innings.
Marquez Success in Interleague Play
At only 25 years of age, Marquez has plenty of experience in these interleague matchups. In fact, he owns a 7-1 record and 3.20 ERA in 16 starts against American League teams.
Montas in Post-PED Suspension
We were all wondering if the partial greatness of Montas in 2019 was due to PEDs, or if it was just his all-natural. Opening Day didn’t necessarily give us our answer, but it was nice to see him out there again pitching well. Montas only made it four innings, allowing only one run while striking out five. Last season, Montas was 4-0 with a 3.00 ERA in seven home starts.
Betting Picks
Under 7.5 runs (-103)
The total dropped from 8 to 7.5 quite early this morning, giving the indication that a good amount of sharp money is betting on a pitcher’s duel. That’s good news, considering that’s what I was immediately thinking. However, it would have been much better to get that total at 8 earlier in the day.
Frankie Montas – Over 5.5 strikeouts (-108)
This number feels like an absolute steam, so let’s make sure we take advantage of it. In only four innings against a pesky Angels’ offense, Montas notched five strikeouts. Now, he gets a longer leash in a matchup against a Rockies team that is already striking out at the ninth-highest rate (26%) already this season.
Colorado’s 3.7 implied run total (IRT) is the third-lowest for any team on the entire MLB schedule. The Rockies did score eight runs last night, but it appears like Vegas believes that was an aberration.
