The Colorado Rockies take on the Chicago Cubs today in the second game of this series. The Cubs won last night’s game 5-2 even though both teams were able to put up 10 hits. The Rockies committed two key errors however, and also made some mistakes on the basepaths that cost them. Both these teams enter the game at 4-2 but both these teams had extreme home/road splits last season. The Rockies were 48-33 at home last season, making them the 7th best home team in the league. The Cubs on the other hand were just 32-49 on the road last season, making them the 8th worst road team in the league last season.
German Marquez is expected to get the start for the Rockies, and he absolutely dominated the Dodgers in his first start. He pitched 7 innings only allowing 1 ER. He was also 8-3 with a 3.67 ERA at home last season. Marcus Stroman is starting for the Cubs, and he is coming off a 5 IP, 1 ER outing. It didn’t really make a difference to him whether he pitched at home or on the road last season, as he had a 3.00 ERA at home and a 3.03 ERA on the road. Interestingly enough, he is 2-1 with a 1.64 ERA at Coors Field in his career. He has made three starts there with two being in 2019 and the third being last season. In his start last season, he pitched 8 innings only allowing 1 ER. And yes, I am still fading him.
This Rockies lineup put together 10 hits last night, yet they were only able to score 2 runs. They had a couple players thrown out on the bases, they made two errors, and they left 12 runners on base. They were also just 1 for 7 with RISP. On the other side, the Cubs only left 4 runners on base all game and went 4 for 9 with RISP. I think the Cubs won’t be able to maximize on all their chances tonight while the Rockies should be able to turn it around. The Rockies bullpen is also the best in the league right now with just a 0.68 ERA. They have only allowed 2 ER in 6 games so far this season. I like the Rockies at home tonight to take Game 2 of this series.
