The Washington Nationals hit the road and visit the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field for a three-game series beginning on Monday, September 27, 2021.
Washington lost the last three games of their most recent series against the Cincinnati Reds and have dropped to 64-92 on the season and in bottom place in the NL East team standings, 19.5 games behind the division leaders Atlanta Braves. The Nationals have lost three in a row and are just 4-7 in their last 11 games played.
Meanwhile, the Rockies were blanked by the Giants last weekend and they scored only a total of six runs in three games played. Colorado is 71-84 on the season and they are 4th in the NL West team standings, 30.5 games behind San Francisco. Colorado heads to this game having lost its last four games and are just 1-6 in their last seven outings.
Washington is 29-49 on the road this season while Colorado is 46-32 at home this year. They have played only thrice so far this season with the Rockies owning a 2-1 advantage over the Nationals.
The Nationals have long been eliminated from playoff contention but they will try to finish the season on a high note with six games left to play. Washington defeated Cincinnati in Game 1 of their previous series but slumped to lose the next three. The Nationals have the third-worst record in the NL and have been worse since trading Trea Turner and ace Max Sherzer at the deadline.
Left fielder Juan Soto has been red hot as of late and is batting at a league-high .322 average. Soto has 155 hits and 29 home runs while First baseman Josh Bell has 123 hits to help Soto with the offense.
Right-hander Josiah Gray will open on top of the mound for the Nationals on Monday. Gray has an ERA of 5.71 with a WHIP of 1.40 and a 52/33 K/BB ratio in a total of 51 innings pitched this season. The youngster has struggled in his last four starts, giving up 22 runs in 17 ⅓ innings.
Like the Nationals, the Rockies are eyeing to finish strong to build some momentum to the offseason. Colorado has won just once in their last seven games and was swept in their weekend series against the Giants. The Rockies are also out of playoff contention but at least, they are three spots ahead of Washington in the team standings.
First baseman CJ Cron leads the team with 27 homers while right fielder Charles Blackmon is batting .273 with 135 hits on the season. Ryan McMahon and Raimel Tapia each have 127 base knocks.
German Marquez will pitch for the Rockies in this series opener. Marquez has an ERA of 4.32, a WHIP of 1.26, with 172 strikeouts in 175 innings pitched this season. In his most recent start, Marquez conceded five earned runs in four innings against the L.A. Dodgers and has allowed five or more runs in four out of this last eight starts.
Washington is 16-36 in their last 52 games played. The Nationals are 18-43 in their last 61 games as betting underdogs, 5-11 in their last 16 road games against an opponent with a losing record, 10-22 in their last 32 games as road underdogs, 2-8 in their last 10 games against the National League West, 1-5 in their last six Monday games, and 1-7 in their last eight Game 1 of a series.
Marquez is one of the most reliable pitchers for the Rockies but in his last outing, he allowed five runs on six hits with four strikeouts over four innings in a no-decision against the Dodgers. He has allowed five or more runs in half of his last eight starts and has an ERA of 4.31 over that span.
Josiah Gray has put together four quality starts since the Nationals acquired him. Washington may have traded their big bats at the deadline but with Soto and Bell still, there, they are capable of scoring runs, especially against a struggling pitcher like Marquez.
I like the Rockies but I don’t want to lay the plus money with Marquez on the mound. I think the red hot Soto will have a field day at Coors Field.
Prediction: Washington Nationals
The total has gone over in seven out of the last nine Monday games played by the Nationals. The over is 34-16-2 in their last 52 games played overall, 9-4 in their last 13 against the National League West, 6-2 in their last eight games against an opponent with a losing record, 4-1 in their last five games as betting underdogs, and also 4-1 in their last five games as road underdogs.
The total has gone under five out of the last seven games played by the Rockies. The under is 5-2 in their last seven games played on grass, 6-2-1 in their last Game 1 of a series, 4-1-2 in their last seven games against the National League East, 6-2 in their last eight games against the NL, 40-18-2 in their last 60 games when the total is set between 11.0 or higher.
The total has been inflated because this game is being played in the altitude at Coors Field. Marquez has been unreliable lately but he can still put up a decent outing against a lineup that’s unmotivated.
Colorado scored a combined six runs against the Giants over the weekend and their lineup isn’t what it used to be. Meanwhile, Washington was held down to two runs on Sunday and they should run into some problems with Marquez that will limit their scoring.
I expect a decent amount of runs to be scored here given the quality of the starting pitchers. However, I don’t think it will be enough to push the total in double-digits.
Prediction: Under 11.5
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