The San Francisco Giants take on the Colorado Rockies. Check out our MLB odds series for our Giants Rockies prediction and pick.
Alex Cobb goes to the mound for the Giants, while Ryan Feltner gets the call for the Rockies.
Alex Cobb’s ERA on June 19 was 5.62. Now it is 3.99. He has steadily chipped away at his ERA and become a better pitcher over the past two months. Cobb has allowed more than three earned runs in only one of his past six starts. He is generally not dominant, but he has delivered a few strong performances in recent weeks, limiting the Cubs to one run in six innings on July 29 and doing the same against the Diamondbacks in his most recent start on Aug. 15. When he unraveled in May (his ERA for that month was over six runs), Cobb couldn’t avoid big innings in a number of his starts. He has become better at getting out of jams and limiting damage.
Ryan Feltner has a 6.39 ERA. He posted an 8.64 ERA in June. He didn’t pitch for nearly all of July, re-entering the Colorado rotation on July 29. In three August starts, he has produced an 8.56 ERA for the month. Feltner has therefore been consistent in June and August. He’s a consistent 8.60 ERA pitcher. He has simply been tagged a lot. He has allowed at least five runs in five of his last eight starts. It’s hard to know what else to say when a pitching track record is that bad. Keep in mind that he had one month away from regular duty to figure out flaws in his game while he healed and recovered. A lot of pitchers come back from injury breaks and get better. Interestingly enough, Alex Cobb has gone through that precise process this season, missing a few weeks and then getting much sharper after returning from injury. Feltner has not been able to do that.
Courtesy of FanDuelhere are the Giants-Rockies MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Giants-Rockies Odds
San Francisco Giants: -1.5 (-118)
Colorado Rockies: +1.5 (-102)
Over: 10.5 (-120)
Under: 10.5 (-102)
Why The Giants Could Cover the Spread
Alex Cobb versus Ryan Feltner is a lopsided pitching matchup in favor of the Giants. More than that, however, is the fact that San Francisco has lost three games in a row. The Giants desperately need to scramble back and win this series over the weekend at Coors Field. They are not out of the hunt in the wild card race because the San Diego Padres are stumbling around and losing home games to the Washington Nationals, but the Giants have to catch the Milwaukee Brewers as well as the Padres, and they have to catch the Phillies if Philadelphia loses more games and falls outside the top three wild card teams in the National League. There’s a lot of urgency for the Giants in this game, and that should help them.
Why The Rockies Could Cover the Spread
After hammering San Francisco pitching on Friday, the Rockies should feel they can do the same against a less-than-dominant pitcher. If this was Carlos Rodon, maybe the Rockies would have less of a chance, but they can handle Cobb and score enough runs to support Feltner. Charlie Blackmon will reportedly play in this game after getting slightly hurt on Thursday against the Cardinals.
Final Giants-Rockies Prediction & Pick
If the Giants can’t stop their losing streak by beating Ryan Feltner, a legitimately bad big-league pitcher, they will continue to undo the good work they did in winning five straight games and getting back in the wild card hunt. The Giants have to win this game, and they have the pitching matchup they want.
Final Giants-Rockies Prediction & Pick: Giants -1.5
