Colorado +115:
Not gonna get to all my angles in this one, but I will mention a couple things that are weighing pretty heavily for me in this game.
I still feel the Giants might not be out of their offensive slump. The Giants did score 8 runs yesterday, but it was also a case of a favorable run scoring Ump in that one, plus one game isn't a good indicator. If you look at the 11 games prior to yesterday's, the Giants haven't scored more than 3 runs in any of them! I'm not saying they won't score any, but I think the line on Colorado is a bargain considering the starting pitching.
The "Coors factor" actually is weighing in my decision in this one. The Rockies are starting Aaron Cook who you probably never heard of and has only made 4 appearances in the Majors..all in relief, but I did check his minor league numbers and they were pretty good:
Triple-A Colorado Springs: 4-2, 2.82 ERA in 51 innings
Double-A Carolina: 7-2 1.42 ERA in 95 innings
Now here is where the "Coors Factor" figures in: Cook pitched in Colorado Springs which is actually higher altitude than the Coors field altitude which is in Denver. This is a big reason these pitchers that Colorado calls up, really seem not to be affected too much from playing in Coors field.....IT'S ACTUALLY MORE FORGIVING!. But really, the real key is the fact that in Colorado Springs, Cook only gave up 1 home run in 51 total innings and in Carolina, he only gave up 4 home runs in 95 innings
That's 5 total home runs in 146 innings in the minors and this will only help his effectiveness at Coors today....less fly balls hit in the light air the better!
Rueter on the other hand will have some problems today. Rueter has always had a pretty respectable ERA over the years and this year is no different with a 3.36 ERA. However, I dug up all the games he's pitched at Coors field since 1998 and they are just horrific:
Going back through 1998, Rueter has made 8 starts at Coors field and has pitched a total of 40.2 innings, giving up 58 hits and 34 Earned Runs while walking 14 and striking out only 12. This comes out to a 7.62 ERA at Coors
Rueter does get his share of ground ball outs as well, but there's a big difference here.....Rueter is a pitcher that rarely strikes out batters (only 57 K's in 163 innings this season) and that means the ball is always in play which can mean disaster for him especially in a roomy hitters park like Coors
I touched on the biggest angle on this one, but will mention a negative in this one and that is the bullpens. The Colorado pen has been struggling a bit and will see some action today, but I expect the San Fran pen to see action as well, and even though the San Fran bullpen pitcher's ERAs are better, you gotta remember those numbers aren't from Coors plus the majority of their games are in a pitchers park.
Lot's of other things figuring in my decision on this one, but wanted to mention what was weighing most in my decision.
GL :thumb:
