The Rockies (48-76, 20-43 away) travel to take on the Rays (75-51, 40-22 home) in game one of this interleague matchup. Ty Blach is getting the start for the Rockies while Zack Littell is starting for the Rays. See who I like to pick up the win in today’s Colorado Rockies vs. Tampa Bay Rays showdown at Tropicana Field.

COLORADO ROCKIES VS TAMPA BAY RAYS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Colorado Rockies +1.5 Runs

This game will be played at Tropicana Field at 6:40 ET on Tuesday, August 22nd.

WHY BET THE COLORADO ROCKIES:

  • The Rockies will be taking on a Rays club that is just 4-6 vs. the runline in their past ten games.
  • Over their last ten games as the favorite, the Rays are just 4-6 against the runline.
  • The Rockies have gone 1-2 in Zack Littell’s last three starts.

COLORADO ROCKIES SEEK TO IMPROVE THEIR ROAD RECORD

This year, the Rockies have put together a 60-64 record against the runline. On the road, their runline mark sits at 32-31. Straight-up, they are 48-76 and are 5th in the NL West. Lately, Colorado has had problems on the road, losing two straight series. The team’s over/under record for the season is 55-69.

Ty Blach will take the mound for the Rockies with a 1-1 record. In 12 appearances this season, he has an ERA of 4.13 and a batting average allowed of .317. Opponents have walked eight times against him, while he has recorded 15 strikeouts. His WHIP stands at 1.46, with a SLG allowed of .469.

Ty Blach pitched five innings in his most recent outing, but the Rockies ultimately fell to the Diamondbacks 8-5. The lefty earned a no-decision, surrendering two runs on six hits.

For the season, the Rockies are 11th in batting average, hitting a combined .250. Over their last five games, they have hit .312 which is 2nd in that span. Colorado’s average of 4.4 runs per game puts them 19th in the league. In terms of home runs, they have gone deep 126 times and have a team slugging percentage of .405.

Over the Rockies’ past five contests, Charlie Blackmon has been the team’s most productive hitter, batting .411. On the season, he is hitting .281 with 31 RBIs.

WILL THE TAMPA BAY RAYS TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS AT HOME?

On a record of 75-51, the Rays come into today’s game 2nd in the AL East. When playing at home, they are 40-22 and 35-29 on the road. Tampa Bay has played in 39 series thus far, and have gone 22-12-5.

Today marks Zack Littell’s 21st appearance of the season, with a record of 2-4. His ERA is 3.99 and opponents are hitting .290 against him. He has struck out 41 batters and has a WHIP of 1.23. On the road, his ERA is 3.98, while it stands at 11.11 at home.

Zack Littell was handed the loss in the Rays’ 7-0 defeat to the Giants after surrendering two runs on three hits over 5 2/3 innings.

Offensively, Tampa Bay is ranked 4th in the league with an average of 5.3 runs per game. When looking over their last five matchups, the Rays averaged 7.8 runs per contest, which is 2nd best in that span. In terms of their power numbers, Tampa Bay is 4th in all of baseball, with a total of 183 home runs.

Harold Ramírez has been a consistent offensive force for the Tampa Bay Rays this season, boasting a .309 batting average and .453 slugging percentage. In the team’s last ten games, Ramírez has been on fire, leading the Rays in hits and batting an impressive .541.