Rockies vs Diamondbacks Odds, Lines, and Spread – Aug 24

• The Rockies and Diamondbacks begin a four-game set in Arizona on Monday, Aug. 24, starting at 9:40pm ET
• The two teams prop up the NL West with 13 wins each, well outside the wild-card race
• For all the odds, analysis, and best bets, check out the article below

Two of the longest losing streaks in the major leagues will be on the line on Monday, Aug. 24, as the Colorado Rockies travel to Arizona to meet the Diamondbacks in the opener of a four-game series at 9:40pm ET.

Colorado has now lost seven in a row after Sunday’s 11-3 rout against the Los Angeles Dodgers, while Arizona’s run of regret now stands at five and counting following Sunday’s 6-1 loss against San Francisco. But one of those will come to a merciful end on Monday, when Merrill Kelly takes the mound for the D-Backs, facing off against Colorado’s Ryan Castellani, with Arizona the favorite in the Rockies vs Diamondbacks odds.

Rockies vs Diamondbacks Odds

Odds taken Aug. 23

You Can’t Spell Kelly Without A K

Arizona will be looking to their 31-year-old sophomore to have a bounce-back game against Colorado after the right-hander gave up a season-high four earned runs in five innings of a 4-1 loss at Oakland on Aug. 19. That loss dropped his record to 3-2 with a 2.59 ERA.

🔥 6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 7 K 🔥

Take a bow, Merrill Kelly! pic.twitter.com/ooD0ufj1h4

— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) August 15, 2020

Still, Kelly still managed to strike out seven batters in that appearance, the third time in his five starts he has punched out that many batters. As a result, he is striking out 8.3 batters per nine innings, an improvement of 0.5 over his rookie campaign of a year ago.

With just 37 major-league starts in his short career, Kelly has also shown a marked improvement in his second year in other areas, with his ERA dropping down from 4.42 last year, while his WHIP has improved immensely from 1.315 to .989.

Rockies Career Stats vs Kelly

Castellani Still Waiting For A Win

The Rockies’ rookie right-hander will make his fourth career start on Monday, and will be hopeful that he can finally escape the 0-fer tag and grab his first major-league win.

Of course, the Diamondbacks are the -160 favorites to deny him that privilege here. But with an average of 4.33 in run support in those three starts, there is little reason to believe that Castellani can’t find a way into the win club soon.

Ryan Castellani is sporting a 1.04 ERA with 10 Ks after his first two @Rockies starts. pic.twitter.com/q8t0ssb85s

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 15, 2020

His last time out, a 13-6 loss to the Houston Astros, was his longest major-league start, and also his toughest. He gave up eight hits and five earned runs in 5.2 innings, being tagged for the first loss of his career in the process. As a result, his season ERA now stands at 3.77, with a WHIP of .977.

Given it’s just his fourth major-league start, he has yet to face anyone in the Diamondbacks lineup, and vice-versa, so the element of surprise and unfamiliarity will be on his side too.

Rox Ready To Roll

Despite losing seven in a row, it must be pointed out that the Rockies’ losses have all come against the Astros and the Dodgers, two of the most potent offenses in baseball, with those sides ranking seventh and first, respectively, in the MLB in runs scored. Right behind the Astros are the Rockies, with the 139 runs just trailing the 141 scored by Houston.

Sam Hilliard – Colorado Rockies (2) pic.twitter.com/XMMv79Juyc

— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) August 23, 2020

So, as already mentioned, with an average of 5.15 runs per game, the run support is there.

Arizona on the other hand, is averaging just 4.43 runs per game, below the MLB average of 4.70.

So assuming Castellani can put his last start behind him mentally, and pitch like he did in his first two career games, he should give Colorado a real shot to win here.

Pick: Rockies (+138)