What, you though the MLB regular season ended Sunday? Nope, there are two 163rd games on Monday to determine the NL Central and NL West champions as well as the National League’s two wild-card teams. The first game at 1 p.m. ET is Brewers-Cubs. Here, we look at the second matchup between the Rockies and Dodgers. The winning team takes the West and will face the Braves in the NLDS. The losing team plays at either Milwaukee or the Cubs on Tuesday in the wild-card game. The Dodgers come in as the MLB odds favorite for this one.
How to Bet Rockies vs Dodgers MLB Odds & Game Info
There are 1,458+ innings in a baseball season. We’ve played all of them, but need more to settle this thing.
Let’s take the NL West crown! pic.twitter.com/hLocf8TQ3p — Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) 1 de octubre de 2018
- When: Monday, 4 PM ET
- Where: Dodger Stadium, LA
- Probable pitchers (away/home): German Marquez/Walker Buehler
- TV: ESPN
- Stream: WatchESPN
- Radio: TuneIn
- MLB Odds: Los Angeles Dodgers -163 / Colorado Rockies +153 (Total 7)
Weather Forecast
- Clear: 28°C/83°F
- Humidity: 39%
- Precipitation: 0%
- Cloud Cover: 23%
- Wind: 8 mph W
- Stadium Type: Open
Why Bet on Colorado?
There have been 10 one-game tiebreakers in major league history. The last one was in 2013 for the second AL wild-card — the Rays beat the Rangers 5-2.
The Rockies beat the visiting Nationals 12-0 on Sunday and have won nine of 10 overall. Tyler Anderson tossed 7 2/3 shutout innings. Anderson had been struggling in the second half and he was scratched from his last turn in the rotation due to left shoulder soreness.
Charlie Blackmon hit for the cycle Sunday. Blackmon tripled to lead off the bottom of the first inning, hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the third, singled in the bottom of the fifth, and hit an RBI double down the right-field line in the bottom of the eighth, finishing the day 4-for-5 with three RBI and three runs scored. It was the ninth cycle in the Rockies’ 26-year history and the first of Blackmon’s career. It was also the first cycle in major-league history to be hit in Game 162.
Nolan Arenado hit two home runs Sunday to jump ahead of both Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich and the Cardinals’ Matt Carpenter for the NL home run lead. Arenado also had three RBIs Sunday to give him 109, pulling him into a tie for second place with Yelich. All statistics in this game do count toward the regular season.
Colorado will start German Marquez (14-10, 3.76). Last time out in a win over the Phillies, Marquez tied a modern-day major league record with eight straight strikeouts to begin a game on his way to setting the franchise record for most K’s in a season. Marquez matched a mark that was set by Houston lefty Jim Deshaies on Sept. 23, 1986, and equaled by New York Mets righty Jacob deGrom on Sept. 15, 2014. The major league record is held by Mickey Welch, who had nine straight K’s on Aug. 28, 1884, for the New York Gothams.
Marquez made three starts against the Dodgers this season, pitching to a 2.57 ERA and 0.76 WHIP with 22 strikeouts in 21 innings. Cody Bellinger, Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, and Max Muncy combined to go 4-for-28 with one homer (Muncy) and nine strikeouts against Marquez. Marquez has been one of the most effective pitchers in the majors in the second half. He has made 12 starts since July 29, totaling a 2.16 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and 113 strikeouts in 83 1/3 innings. The Rockies have gone 8-4 in those games, and Marquez has made a quality start in all 12 trips, allowing two or fewer runs in at least seven innings in nine of the outings.
Why Bet on LA?
The Dodgers get to host this game because they won the season series 12-7 over the Rockies. LA was 6-3 at home vs. Colorado. Of the seven previous teams to win a tiebreaker game in the wild-card era (1995-present), only the 2007 Rockies went on to play in the World Series (lost to Red Sox) and only two other teams got as far as a league championship series (1995 Mariners and 1999 Mets). The most recent team, the 2013 Rays, won the wild-card game but lost in the division series.
The Dodgers entered the weekend a game behind the Rockies in the West but L.A. swept three in San Francisco while the Rockies lost one to Washington. The Dodgers rolled Sunday 15-0. Matt Kemp went 3-for-3 with two doubles, three RBI and a run scored. Outside of an ugly stretch after the All-Star break, Kemp had an outstanding season that came somewhat out of nowhere. He hit .290 with 21 homers, and he drove in 85 runs with a strong .818 OPS.
Max Muncy went 1-for-2 with a two-run homer on Sunday. Muncy pinch-hit for Justin Turner in the blowout, and the 28-year-old crashed his 34th homer of the season and drove in his 76th and 77th runs, respectively.
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L.A. turns to rookie Walker Buehler (7-5, 2.76) here. In his latest start, the 24-year-old right-hander took a no-decision vs. Arizona, allowing two runs over six. The start before that, he beat Colorado with 12 strikeouts to become the youngest pitcher since Clayton Kershaw in 2011 to record a double-digit strikeout game for the Dodgers.
Buehler made more starts against the Rockies than any other team during his rookie year, taking the ball against them five times. He got just one decision—a loss—but dominated. Buehler tossed 31 innings in those five starts, racking up a 2.61 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 33 strikeouts. He held Nolan Arenado to a 3-for-10 line with zero extra-base hits and five strikeouts. Trevor Story homered once but went just 3-for-14 with four strikeouts. David Dahl, one of the hottest hitters in the league of late, went 2-for-8 with two strikeouts against Buehler. D.J. LeMahieu managed a 3-for-12 line with one extra-base hit, a double, and two strikeouts. No L.A. starter had more success this season against the Rockies, collectively or against their best hitters individually than Buehler.
Rockies vs Dodgers MLB Betting Trends
- Under is 7-2 in the last 9 meetings
- Under is 6-2-1 in the last 9 meetings in Los Angeles
- Rockies are 0-4 in the last 4 meetings in Los Angeles
- Rockies are 0-4 in the last 4 meetings
- Colorado is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games
- Colorado is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Colorado’s last 7 games
- Dodgers are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games
- Dodgers are 13-4 SU in their last 17 games
- The total has gone OVER in 6 of LA Dodgers’s last 8 games
Expert MLB Betting Prediction for Rockies vs Dodgers
LA wins a low-scoring game.
