Opening Line: Phillies -133
Jason Marquis makes his Colorado debut as the Rockies host Cole Hamels and the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies. Marquis went 23-18 in his two seasons with the Cubs, but his ERA was an unimpressive 4.57. He’ll need plenty of run support this year to get his third winning season in a row. The Phillies’ Hamels is coming off a fantastic season that was culminated by a World Series MVP trophy. He’s making his first start of the season after suffering some elbow tightness during Spring Training.
This will be a rematch of the 2007 NLDS in which the Rockies easily swept the Phils in 3 games, holding the heavy hitting Phillies to less than a .200 batting average. Philadelphia got their revenge last year by taking all 5 meetings last year by an average score of 10-4.
Despite roughing up Cy Young winner Brandon Webb on Opening Day, The Rockies lost 9-8 to the Diamondbacks. Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales turned in stellar efforts as the Rocks took the final two games of the series 3-0 and 9-2. They’ll be looking for the same type of outing from Marquis against the Phillies this afternoon.
After losing the first two games of the season to the Braves 4-1 and 4-0, the Phillies trailed the Atlanta 10-3 in the bottom of the 7th before plating 8 runs and winning 12-11. The Phillies have routinely started the season slow. They have 5 losing Aprils in a row. Hamels will be looking to even the Phillies record by holding down the Rockies lineup that is hitting .360 this year against lefties. Phillies starters so far have an ERA of 9.00, so Manager Charlie Manual would like a quality start from his World Series MVP.
The Phillies only hit .212 in their opening series against the Braves and really didn’t do much to score their 8 runs in game 3 of the series. The Atlanta bullpen walked in 4 of those runs. Despite that, I believe the Phils got a bit of a spark from that comeback and will carry that over to Denver tonight. They also had the distractions of all the World Series activities that took place at Citizens Bank Park.
Prediction: Phillies -133
Here are some other trends to consider in this game:
Phillies are 4-0 in their last 4 games as a road favorite of -110 to -150.
Phillies are 5-0 in their last 5 games as a road favorite.
Phillies are 9-1 in their last 10 vs. National League West.
Phillies are 7-1 in their last 8 road games with the total set at 9.0-10.5.
Phillies are 6-1 in their last 7 games as a favorite of -110 to -150.
Phillies are 5-1 in their last 6 games vs. a starter with a WHIP less than 1.15.
Phillies are 4-1 in their last 5 when their opponent scores 5 runs or more in their previous game.
Phillies are 4-1 in their last 5 after scoring 5 runs or more in their previous game.
Phillies are 23-7 in their last 30 vs. a team with a winning record.
Phillies are 6-2 in their last 8 after allowing 5 runs or more in their previous game.
Phillies are 19-7 in their last 26 games following a win.
Phillies are 19-7 in their last 26 games following an off day.
Phillies are 21-8 in their last 29 games vs. a right-handed starter.
Phillies are 41-16 in their last 57 when their opponent allows 2 runs or less in their previous game.
Phillies are 5-2 in their last 7 Friday games.
Phillies are 38-16 in their last 54 games on grass.
Phillies are 39-17 in their last 56 overall.
Phillies are 9-4 in their last 13 road games vs. a right-handed starter.
Phillies are 36-16 in their last 52 games with the total set at 9.0-10.5.
Phillies are 9-4 in their last 13 road games.
Phillies are 36-16 in their last 52 games as a favorite.
Phillies are 38-17 in their last 55 during game 1 of a series.
Phillies are 5-0 in Hamels' last 5 starts.
Phillies are 4-0 in Hamels' last 4 starts on grass.
Phillies are 5-0 in Hamels' last 5 starts after scoring 5 runs or more in their previous game.
Phillies are 6-0 in Hamels' last 6 starts vs. a team with a winning record.
Phillies are 4-0 in Hamels' last 4 starts vs. National League West.
Phillies are 5-1 in Hamels' last 6 starts as a favorite of -110 to -150.
Phillies are 4-1 in Hamels' last 5 starts when their opponent scores 5 runs or more in their previous game.
Phillies are 4-1 in Hamels' last 5 road starts.
Phillies are 13-4 in Hamels' last 17 road starts with the total set at 9.0-10.5.
Phillies are 22-8 in Hamels' last 30 starts as a road favorite.
Phillies are 19-7 in Hamels' last 26 starts when their opponent allows 2 runs or less in their previous game.
Phillies are 46-18 in Hamels' last 64 starts as a favorite.
Phillies are 28-12 in Hamels' last 40 starts with the total set at 9.0-10.5.
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