Philadelphia Phillies +118 (Blanton) @ Colorado Rockies -138 (Chacin); ou9.
Tonight at Coors Field, a couple of smokin’ hot clubs meet in single game makeup. The Phillies are currently the Willd Card leader who maintain that they have their eyes on the division title and they are the road team tonight, heading into Colorado to face the surging Colorado Rockies who have their crosshairs on the Phils and that Wild Card spot. If there is anything we should have learned over the past few seasons, it’s that these two teams put on some incredible runs in the month of September. The Rockies always seem to play their best baseball down the stretch and once again seem to be getting things to come together at the right time. Even better for the Rockies, Carlos Gonzalez is on some kind of tear right now and has shoved his name into the MVP and Triple Crown talks in the National League. He is riding a 9 game hitting streak, has 5 home runs 13 ribbies in that span. Last night in San Francisco, he was responsible for the lone run against Lincecum, a solo, opposite field shot and went 3-4 in that contest. Today the Rockies welcome the Phils in another must win (as are all of the games for both of these teams the rest of the way as they attempt to make it into the postseason) and Joe Blanton, who CarGo has had some success against in a very small sample size. Gonzalez is 2-3 lifetime against Big Joe with 2 singles. The Phils will for sure have their eyes focused on this superstar in Denver tonight.
Joe Blanton (11-11, 5.15) gets the start tonight, and he has himself been on some kind of tear. The Phillies have won 4 of Blanton’s last 5 starts, in which he has allowed 10 earned in 32 innings. That 2.81 ERA he put together in the month of August was also finished with 4 allowed in his last 3 outings and 19.1 innings. Joe Blanton has been serious of late, and if he can put together a decent outing tonight in the thin air in Denver, the Phils will have a fantastic shot at this game as well, as they are coming off a 5-1 west coast swing, sweeping the best team in the National League and taking 2 of 3 in Dodger Stadium. The Phillies are some kinda hot right now, and the middle of their lineup seems to be finding their groove. Utley went 3-5 in yesterday’s win with 3 doubles, and Howard hit a mammoth opposite-field shot in the middle game of the series against the Dodgers. Jimmy Rollins also had a great game in the finale and the Phils really seem to be clicking, as usual, as they turn the calendar page to their favorite month: September.
Jhoulys Chacin (8-8 in his 16 starts, 3.79 season ERA) gets the nod for the Rockies tonight and he has been really good in his last 2 starts as well, allowing only 1 earned on 7 hits in 14 innings. The Rockies will look to get back on the winning side of things today, after losing two in a row in San Francisco. The Rockies had gone 7-1 before the 2 straight losses, and 3 of those were a home sweep of the Atlanta Braves. This is an absolute must win for the Rockies, who lost two games in the WC standings to the Giants, and need to get a win versus the WC leader, in hopes to get at least one of those games back.
Not a huge sample size here for either starter against tonight's opposition, as Chacin is a rook who has never faced the Phils and Blanton only has two career starts against the Rockies, but both pitchers have been pitching very well of late. The Phillies at plus money is absolutely the play here tonight, however. They are hitting and pitching well, and should do well against this rookie righty. I don’t expect Blanton to be dominant tonight however, facing a hungry Rockie team in Colorado, and I do expect the Phils to put up a handful more runs against Chacin. I really like the over 9 as well.
Best of Luck today in any side you choose, enjoy the opening of the college football season, and look for me on tv Saturday night as the Doc takes the hill against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Tonight at Coors Field, a couple of smokin’ hot clubs meet in single game makeup. The Phillies are currently the Willd Card leader who maintain that they have their eyes on the division title and they are the road team tonight, heading into Colorado to face the surging Colorado Rockies who have their crosshairs on the Phils and that Wild Card spot. If there is anything we should have learned over the past few seasons, it’s that these two teams put on some incredible runs in the month of September. The Rockies always seem to play their best baseball down the stretch and once again seem to be getting things to come together at the right time. Even better for the Rockies, Carlos Gonzalez is on some kind of tear right now and has shoved his name into the MVP and Triple Crown talks in the National League. He is riding a 9 game hitting streak, has 5 home runs 13 ribbies in that span. Last night in San Francisco, he was responsible for the lone run against Lincecum, a solo, opposite field shot and went 3-4 in that contest. Today the Rockies welcome the Phils in another must win (as are all of the games for both of these teams the rest of the way as they attempt to make it into the postseason) and Joe Blanton, who CarGo has had some success against in a very small sample size. Gonzalez is 2-3 lifetime against Big Joe with 2 singles. The Phils will for sure have their eyes focused on this superstar in Denver tonight.
Joe Blanton (11-11, 5.15) gets the start tonight, and he has himself been on some kind of tear. The Phillies have won 4 of Blanton’s last 5 starts, in which he has allowed 10 earned in 32 innings. That 2.81 ERA he put together in the month of August was also finished with 4 allowed in his last 3 outings and 19.1 innings. Joe Blanton has been serious of late, and if he can put together a decent outing tonight in the thin air in Denver, the Phils will have a fantastic shot at this game as well, as they are coming off a 5-1 west coast swing, sweeping the best team in the National League and taking 2 of 3 in Dodger Stadium. The Phillies are some kinda hot right now, and the middle of their lineup seems to be finding their groove. Utley went 3-5 in yesterday’s win with 3 doubles, and Howard hit a mammoth opposite-field shot in the middle game of the series against the Dodgers. Jimmy Rollins also had a great game in the finale and the Phils really seem to be clicking, as usual, as they turn the calendar page to their favorite month: September.
Jhoulys Chacin (8-8 in his 16 starts, 3.79 season ERA) gets the nod for the Rockies tonight and he has been really good in his last 2 starts as well, allowing only 1 earned on 7 hits in 14 innings. The Rockies will look to get back on the winning side of things today, after losing two in a row in San Francisco. The Rockies had gone 7-1 before the 2 straight losses, and 3 of those were a home sweep of the Atlanta Braves. This is an absolute must win for the Rockies, who lost two games in the WC standings to the Giants, and need to get a win versus the WC leader, in hopes to get at least one of those games back.
Not a huge sample size here for either starter against tonight's opposition, as Chacin is a rook who has never faced the Phils and Blanton only has two career starts against the Rockies, but both pitchers have been pitching very well of late. The Phillies at plus money is absolutely the play here tonight, however. They are hitting and pitching well, and should do well against this rookie righty. I don’t expect Blanton to be dominant tonight however, facing a hungry Rockie team in Colorado, and I do expect the Phils to put up a handful more runs against Chacin. I really like the over 9 as well.
Best of Luck today in any side you choose, enjoy the opening of the college football season, and look for me on tv Saturday night as the Doc takes the hill against the Milwaukee Brewers.
