Rockies vs Giants Picks and Odds (April 9)
By Jordan Horrobin in MLB Baseball
- The Rockies and Giants open a three-game series at Oracle Park on Friday, April 9, at 4:35 pm ET
- San Francisco celebrates its home opener, a limited-capacity sellout, while facing Colorado for the first time this season
- For the odds, matchup analysis, and best bets, check out the article below
Nearly 9,000 fans are expected to attend Oracle Park on Friday for the San Francisco Giants’ home opener against the Colorado Rockies (4:35 pm ET first pitch). There they’ll see Austin Gomber take the mound for the Rockies, opposite Giants veteran Johnny Cueto.
The Giants just took two of three against the vaunted San Diego Padres, while the Rockies did the same against the Arizona Diamondbacks. For Friday, the Giants are favored on the moneyline.
Rockies vs Giants Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Runline | Â Run Total at DraftKings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Rockies | +125 | +1.5 (-177) | Over 8 (-120) |
| San Francisco Giants | -148 | -1.5 (+148) | Under 8 (-103) |
Odds as of April 8th.
About Last Night
Thursday was an off-day for the Giants, which is always a good thing for the bullpen (even though we’re only through one week of the season). The bullpen that could use a break, though, is the one belonging to the Rockies.
Colorado’s relievers are second in the majors in innings pitched (31), and they’ve struggled to a 5.81 ERA so far. That puts added pressure on starter Austin Gomber to go deep and give Colorado some effective innings.
Plz enjoy this Dom dinger with your taco's pic.twitter.com/s5QMbDcJ3s
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 8, 2021
On Thursday, Colorado didn’t have to use its bullpen too much, thanks to Jon Gray’s strong outing. And offense hasn’t lacked much for the Rockies lately, as they have 29 hits in their past three games.
Rockies Career Stats vs Johnny Cueto
| Player | AB | HR | RBI | AVG. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Blackmon | 30 | 1 | 4 | .367 |
| C.J. Cron | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Elias Diaz | 3 | 0 | 2 | .333 |
| Josh Fuentes | 3 | 0 | 1 | .667 |
| Garrett Hampson | 2 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Sam Hilliard | 2 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
| Ryan McMahon | 3 | 0 | 1 | .333 |
| Chris Owings | 15 | 0 | 3 | .267 |
| Trevor Story | 24 | 2 | 6 | .292 |
| Raimel Tapia | 7 | 0 | 0 | .143 |
No Book on Gomber
Austin Gomber might not be the most popular man in Colorado, but it’s not his fault. The left-hander was shipped to Denver this past offseason in a trade that sent perennial all-star Nolan Arenado to St Louis.
Five (5) Ks for Austin Gomber. That'll play! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/seKH6GGvcW
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) March 10, 2021
Gomber’s first start for the Rockies was a disaster. He walked seven and allowed three runs (one earned) in just three innings of work against the Dodgers. Though one can’t expect him to walk that volume of batters on a regular basis, walks have been an issue in his young career (4.5 walks per nine in 107 career innings).
The good news for Gomber is that the Giants have almost zero experience against him. Curt Casali, a former Cincinnati Red, has seen Gomber once. That’s it. Perhaps he can capitalize on the Giants’ inexperience against him — if he can throw strikes, that is.
Giants Career Stats vs Austin Gomber
| Player | AB | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Belt | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Curt Casali | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Brandon Crawford | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Alex Dickerson | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 |
| Wilmer Flores | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Tommy La Stella | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Evan Longoria | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Buster Posey | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Austin Slater | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Donovan Solano | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Recent Matchups
These teams haven’t met yet this season, but in their final 10 matchups of 2020, the Rockies went 6-4. That includes two wins in games started by Cueto.
After five innings and 94 pitches, Johnny Cueto has his highest whiff rate (36%) since April 17, 2018. His line isn’t terrific, but it’s really fun to see Johnny miss a lot of bats again.
— Tony Wolfe (@_TonyWolfe_) April 3, 2021
And while it’s true Cueto was awful in two starts against Colorado last season, his career numbers against the Rockies are much better (9-4, 3.16 ERA). We like a rested Giants team to outshine Gomber and the Rockies.
Pick: San Francisco Giants (-148)
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Sports Writer
Jordan Horrobin is a sports journalist whose MLB, NHL, NFL and NCAA work has appeared in outlets such as The Athletic, MLB.com, the Detroit Free Press and more. He is currently based in Toronto, also working as a contributor for Forbes.com and a freelance editor for Sportsnet.
