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In what turned out to be a low-scoring football game between these two on Friday night, the Kansas City Royals and the Colorado Rockies will square off in game two of this interleague series at Coors Field, where runs are always at a premium in the thin air of the Rocky Mountains. It is about that time to take a sneak peek at our MLB odds series, where our Royals-Rockies prediction and pick will be unveiled.
With runs somewhat being down across the MLB to start off the 2022 season, not a single soul would've noticed in Denver on Friday, as both teams combined for 24 runs in a 14-10 Royals victory. The win improves Kansas City to 11-19 on the season and will look to take the series this evening with a triumphant outing out of RHP Carlos Hernandez and his inflated 7.15 ERA.
As for the Rockies, the once-promising start to the campaign seems to be all but lost, as they are in the midst of a five-game losing skid. Looking to reverse that trend will be right ace German Marquez, who is eager to find his groove after posting a very pedestrian 0-3 record with a swelling 6.47 ERA.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Royals-Rockies MLB odds:
MLB odds: Royals-Rockies Odds
Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-125)
Colorado Rockies: -1.5 (+104)
Over: 11.5 (-105)
Under: 11.5 (-115)
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Why The Royals Could Cover the Spread
While an 11-19 record won't necessarily inspire Royals fans, the fact that they have scored at least eight runs in two of the last three games could provide a glimmer of hope. On Friday, all of that came together in perfect harmony, as Kansas City swatted an absurd 18 hits as first-baseman Hunter Dozier went 5-5 on the night with four runs scored. Even with the pitching allowing ten runs themselves and making things a little too close for comfort, KC did what they needed to do against a slumping Rockies bunch.
If the Royals can add on to the pitch count of Marquez and have him exit the game early, then Kansas City can get attacking versus a very subpar Colorado bullpen.
Collectively, the Royals are near the bottom statistically on offense, but there is nothing quite like Coors Field that will help a struggling lineup breakout in the most explosive way possible. With 25 runs scored combined in their past three matchups, the Royals now have 106 runs scored total, which is still only good for 29th in all of baseball.
Kansas City has not been a whole lot better when it comes to pitching, as they possess the fourth-highest ERA at 4.47 and are letting offenses rake .256 off of them. To make matters worse and a bit more dicey, the Royals are sending out a man to pitch who has never faced the Rockies in his career, including never appearing at Coors Field. Hernandez has yet to allow less than three runs in his five starts and is coming off his worst start of the year in giving up six runs off seven hits in roughly four frames tossed in a 6-1 defeat at the hands of the Orioles.
Why the Rockies Could Cover the Spread
At this point, if you are a Rockies fan or have paid close attention to Colorado throughout the years, you will have noticed that they are the best team in baseball during the month of April and even halfway through May before the June swoon hits them like a brick wall. In this case, it is quite possible the swoon is happening slightly earlier than expected, as the Rockies have been sliding and now sit exactly at .500. Even a week ago, it appeared Colorado was trending upwards with a 16-11 mark, but poor play in the series against the D-Backs and Giants has been a halt on those lofty expectations.
The name of the Rockies' game has been the resurgence of first-baseman C.J. Cron, who is atop the National League leaderboard with his nine home runs and possesses a team-leading 22 RBIs in his 123 at-bats. Cron went 3-5 with a double against the Royals on Friday.
Just like in franchise history, the Rockies are no strangers to scoring with 143 under their belts, but the pitching has been their downfall in the first month and a half of the 2022 season.
The team's lone All-Star from a year ago, Marquez, has the stuff and pitching arsenal to be a certified ace in this league, even despite the struggles to open up the season. Marquez last faced the Royals in 2017, when he allowed just two runs over six innings pitched.
Final Royals-Rockies Prediction & Pick
In all honestly, this is an extremely tough game to pick from. Both teams are far too inconsistent to put your faith in them, so glancing upon the pitching matchup seems like the only fair thing to base this one off of. With Hernandez pitching at Coors Field for the first time and Marquez seemingly finding his footing in his last start versus Arizona, the Rockies should be able to snap their losing streak and cover the spread at home in front of their fans.
Final Royals-Rockies Pick: Rockies -1.5 (+104)
