Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 4/19/2022

Time: 8:40 p.m. ET

Venue: Coors Field, Denver, CO

Where to watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain

DraftKings: Phillies -125, Rockies +105

BetMGM: Phillies -120, Rockies +100

Caesars: Phillies -135, Rockies +115

Phillies: 4-7

Rockies: 7-3

Yeah, I’m conceding this. The Colorado Rockies are officially fun and I’m on the bandwagon. The hitting? Yeah, it’s great. The power? Man, it’s evident. Combine the starting pitching in there, and shutting down the Philadelphia Phillies like they did on Monday, I’d say that’s a good start.

The Rockies took the first of the three-game series against the Phillies on Monday in Coors Field, and the series will continue Tuesday with the Rockies looking to expand on their 7-3 start in this young season.

Now, the offense wasn’t as explosive as its been at times, but it was still balanced and effective. The game went scoreless all the way up until the bottom of the sixth inning when Charlie Blackmon took Aaron Nola deep to open the scoring. A wild pitch brought home a second run for a two-run lead.

Randal Grichuk followed that with a two-run double in the bottom of the seventh. That was all that starter Chad Kuhl needed for his first win of the season, going six innings of two-hit ball and striking out four.

You really have to think back to the days of Ubaldo Jimenez to find a string of starting pitching that has actually gotten Rockies fans excited. Again, complement that with the hitting – all but two players had a hit in the game – and there’s no reason to think the Rockies can’t be a fun team to watch this year.

“The thing that I’ve talked to him most about is, with his stuff, stay on the attack and stay in the strike zone or just right off,” said Rockies manager Bud Black on his starter after his impressive day. “When you have big misses as a pitcher, a lot of times it’s harder to get back in the strike zone. If he can get to the point where his delivery and release point finish is near and around the plate, he’s going to stay near and around the plate.”

To keep pitches down in Coors Field is already a problem, but Kuhl had no issue mowing down the star-studded Phillies lineup after they fell to 4-7 to begin the season. And once again, the middle of the lineup filled with power and run production went quiet again. Bryce Harper went 1-for-4, Nick Castellanos went 0-for-4, Kyle Schwarber also 0-for-4. The guys that are supposed to produce have yet to do so.

“Yeah, man, it sucks,” Castellanos said. “There's no way around that. Our lineup obviously is much better than what we're doing. We just haven't been able to really get anything rolling.”

I wonder if Castellanos wishes he was back in Cincinnati, crushing baseballs and making a late charge for the playoffs. Okay, maybe not to that extreme.

“I mean to say I'm not frustrated would be lying,” Castellanos said. “Every game that we lose, I'm frustrated. Especially to teams that I feel like we're better than. But it is 162 games. All we can do is stay the course and continue to put the work in. Continue to get used to playing with each other. When the dust settles, hopefully, we'll be where we need to be.”

The Phillies will try to get off the schnide after losing six of seven by sending Kyle Gibson to the mound. Gibson, the right-hander that was a major deadline acquisition from Texas last year, is 1-1 with a 3.09 ERA through two starts. He gave up four runs in 4.2 innings last time out, a loss in Miami.

The Rockies will counter with left-hander Kyle Freeland, who has been charged with two of Colorado’s three losses this season. He’s allowed five earned runs in both starts, but went 5.1 innings last time out against Chicago. He only lasted 3.2 innings in his first start of the year against the Dodgers.

I don’t anticipate Freeland to continue this struggle bus of a season, but I do expect Gibson to control things and deliver a much-needed victory for the Phillies. The bats may not come alive just yet, but I think there’s something to Gibson being the veteran he is and settling things down. I’ll give Philly the nod here in a surprising pitching duel. Phillies win 4-3

Phillies are 72-59 as a favorite the past three seasons.

Phillies are 47-68 on the road the past three seasons.

Rockies are 64-54 at home the past three seasons.

Phillies:
Kyle Schwarber (L) LF
Rhys Hoskins (R) 1B
Bryce Harper (L) RF
Nick Castellanos (R) DH
Didi Gregorius (L) SS
Johan Camargo (S) 3B
Bryson Stott (L) 2B
Garrett Stubbs (L) C
Simon Muzziotti (L) CF
Kyle Gibson (RHP) 1-1, 3.09 ERA

Rockies:
Connor Joe (R) LF
Charlie Blackmon (L) RF
Kris Bryant (R) DH
C.J. Cron (R) 1B
Brendan Rodgers (R) 2B
Randal Grichuk (R) CF
Elias Diaz (R) C
Jose Iglesias (R) SS
Garrett Hampson (R) 3B
Kyle Freeland (LHP) 0-2, 10.00 ERA

Batting average: Nick Castellanos -- .3293

Hits: Nick Castellanos -- 12

Home runs: Four tied -- 2

RBI: Bryce Harper -- 9

Wins: Four tied -- 1

Saves: Two tied -- 1

ERA: Kyle Gibson -- 3.09

Batting average: Connor Joe -- .359

Hits: Connor Joe -- 14

Home runs: C.J. Cron -- 5

RBI: C.J. Cron -- 10

Wins: Jhoulys Chacin -- 2

Saves: Daniel Bard -- 4

ERA: Chad Kuhl -- 0.87