The Rockies are sitting well under the .500 mark on the year, but they are finding ways to tread water lately. Over their last ten games, Colorado is playing break-even baseball and just scraped out a 3-2 win against this same Chicago team. That victory came courtesy of a clean defensive performance and some timely hitting, capped off by a TJ Rumfield home run. It is modest momentum, but they will look to build on it when they take the field for a 1:10 p.m. MT first pitch this afternoon at Coors Field.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs are reeling. Sitting right at .500 overall masks a genuinely brutal stretch of baseball. They have dropped 15 of their last 20 games, including seven of their last ten. The offense looked lifeless in their recent loss to Colorado, managing just two runs on five hits. Right now, Chicago looks lost at the plate and desperate to halt a prolonged downward slide.
The bottom line for Colorado today is straightforward: keep the foot on the gas against a vulnerable opponent. If the Rockies can play clean defense again and get a functional outing from their starter, they have a clear path to extend Chicago’s misery.
The Breakdown
This afternoon’s pitching matchup features Ryan Feltner taking the mound for Colorado against Edward Cabrera for Chicago. Feltner has actually been effective at limiting traffic lately. Over his recent appearances, the right-hander boasts a solid 1.16 WHIP and is walking under three batters per nine innings. The issue? He cannot seem to work deep. Feltner is averaging just 4.57 innings per start over this stretch, putting early stress on the rest of the roster.
On the other side, Cabrera is going through a miserable stretch. Over his last 10 appearances, the right-hander is still missing bats—striking out over eight batters per nine innings—but when teams make contact, they are doing severe damage. Cabrera is currently surrendering more than 10 hits and nearly two home runs per nine innings over that span. His ERA has ballooned to 5.57, and he is highly susceptible to hard contact in the zone.
The X-factor today is the massive divergence in offensive form between these two clubs. Over their last 10 games, the Rockies are generating genuine pressure, pushing across 5.7 runs and 9.6 hits per game to fuel a strong .823 team OPS. Chicago’s bats, conversely, have gone ice cold. The Cubs are averaging a meager 3.1 runs per game and slugging just .387 as a team over their last ten contests.
For the Rockies to win this afternoon, Feltner needs to attack the strike zone early, manage his pitch count, and finally push past the fifth inning. If he can bridge the gap to the later innings, the Rockies just need their bats to maintain their current rhythm. Jumping on Cabrera’s tendency to give up the long ball will put Colorado in the driver’s seat.
Odds & Lines
- Moneyline: Colorado Rockies (+125) / Chicago Cubs (-154)
- Run Line: Colorado Rockies +1.5 (-120) / Chicago Cubs -1.5 (+100)
- Over/Under: 11 (Over -115 / Under -105)
Our Pick
MGM has the total for this one set at 11, and we are comfortably targeting the Over. The Rockies are swinging the bats well enough right now to do damage against Edward Cabrera, especially considering how frequently the Cubs starter is surrendering home runs. But the real catalyst for a high-scoring afternoon comes once the starting pitchers leave the game.
Ryan Feltner rarely pitches deep. He is almost certainly going to hand the ball over early to a Colorado bullpen that sports a shaky 5.19 ERA for the season. Even against a Chicago lineup that looks entirely dormant, that relief corps is a constant threat to give up crooked numbers in the middle and late innings. Combine a leaky bullpen with a Cubs starter giving up hard contact at an alarming rate, and you have a clear recipe for runs in the thin air of Coors Field. Taking a shootout is the most logical read on the board today.
Pick: Over 11 (-115)
Player Prop Pick
Backing Hunter Goodman this afternoon offers a clean edge.
When looking at the platoon splits for Chicago starter Edward Cabrera, a glaring vulnerability stands out: right-handed batters hit him hard. Righties are slugging .516 against Cabrera this season, launching seven home runs in just 103 plate appearances. That plays perfectly into the hands of Goodman, who has been mashing right-handed pitching. Over 187 plate appearances against righties, Goodman boasts an .888 OPS with 14 home runs and a robust .552 slugging percentage.
Goodman also enters this matchup riding a hot streak. Over his last 10 games, he has blasted five home runs and collected 10 total hits to generate a massive 1.163 OPS. Cabrera gives up hard contact to righties, and Goodman is swinging a heavy bat. Backing the Rockies slugger to do damage in Denver is a smart investment today.
Pick: Hunter Goodman Over 1.5 Total Bases
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Sportradar Content Studio contributed to this story.