Colorado Rockies vs. San Francisco Giants Prediction: Will the Rockies Bats Get Hot Early at Home?
Colorado Rockies vs. San Francisco Giants Prediction: Will the Rockies Bats Get Hot Early at Home?
The Rockies and Giants will kick off a three-game series from Coors Field tonight in what should be an electric series. Rarely is a series boring in Coors Field, as they are often high scoring and filled with action. The Rockies and Giants just played a series last week in San Francisco, and the Giants swept the Rockies while scoring 24 runs over the three games, ending the series with a +16 run differential. Can the Rockies turn it around at home after the series loss to the Royals? Or will the Giants cruise through another series against the Rockies? Here are our picks, predictions, and odds for Monday's game between the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants.
Rockies vs. Giants Start Time, Where to Watch, and Odds
- Date: May 16, 2022
- Game Time: 8:40 pm ET
- Where to Watch: AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountains, NBC Sports Bay Area, MLB Extra Innings
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Colorado Rockies vs. San Francisco Giants Prediction
The Rockies are a unique team because they feature baseball's most significant home-field advantage. Coors Field is a notoriously hitter-friendly ballpark, but the Rockies always seem to have the upper hand due to the VMI of hitting in Coors Field. VMI (not to be confused with Virginia Military Institute), for those unfamiliar with the term, is the acronym for "Visual Memory Index." This is the term used to track how a hitter's hand-eye memory works.
This is important because this has proven to be an effective tool when studying hitters for many years now. Balls tend to move differently in different environments due to factors like air density, humidity, and the overall weather that varies around the country. This exact reasoning is why the Rockies are so darn good at home. They see more pitches than any other team at the high altitude in Coors, and as a result, they tend to hit the ball better than the visitors. This is most prominent in the first game of the series since the visiting team is still adjusting. This will be the Giant's first game in Coors Field all season.
Taking the mound for the Rockies today will be Antonio Senzatela. Senzatela has always been fond of Coors Field in his six years with the Rockies, and he has followed the trend so far this season. Senzatela is 2-0 at home with a 2.37 earned run average and 0-2 on the road with a 10.38 earned run average. Over his career, he is 26-12 at Coors Field and 12-25 on the road. If anyone is comfortable pitching in Coors Field, it's Senzatela.
The Rockies hitters are first in the MLB in batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS at home with .284, .353, and .813 split in Coors Field. The Rockies are also crushing left-handed pitching this year and are first in the MLB with a .301 average against lefties. Today, they face Alex Wood, a lefty for the Giants.
Alex Wood is a talented pitcher who finished the last season with the Giants with a 3.83 earned run average. However, he's never had much success in Coors Field. He's started ten games in Coors Field in his career, and in those ten starts, he has given up 34 earned runs in 36 innings pitched for an 8.5 earned run average and 1.86 WHIP.
The Giants have been so-so in their first-half record on the road. They are 6-5-2 on the road on the first-five line, so 6-7 covering the -.5 line. The Rockies, conversely, are 10-6-2 at home on the first-five line, covering the +.5 run line at a 12-6 clip. Given the splits for the Rockies against lefties and at home, and getting Senzatela on the mound who is comfortable pitching in Coors Field, I love getting a half-run with the Rockies in the first half. Take the Rockies to continue hitting well at home, and even if the Giants score well off Senzatela, they should be able to back him up against the lefty Alex Wood.
Colorado Rockies vs. San Francisco Giants Best Bet
Pick: Rockies First 5 +.5 (-115) (Bet $115 to win $100)
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Article Author
Ben Rajavuori is a handicapper out of Minneapolis, MN. He has been creating sports content for almost four years now and is an expert in all things NFL, MLB, NBA, UFC, and NCAAB. Ben thrives on diving deep into statistics to find the best angle on every bet. You can follow him on Twitter @WeBeatTheSpread.