Bryan Power

7* Colorado (8:10 ET): It was a wild one last night here at Coors Field w/ the Padres defeating the Rockies 16-12 in a game that went 12 innings. You'll get those kind of high-scoring results sometimes in the thin air of Denver, but the Padres scoring 16 runs in a game was abnormal to say the least. Keep in mind that they rallied for six runs in the ninth to tie the game at 11-11. San Diego had never overcome a deficit of 6+ runs in the ninth according to Elias nor had Colorado ever blown a lead of that size. I think the Rockies get some revenge Saturday. 

I can't say that I'm sold on this Padres team, which has been outscored by 33 runs this season. Last night snapped a five-game losing skid, which included a 9-6 loss here in Denver Thursday night. Though they had lost five in a row before last night's miraculous rally, San Diego is a team that has experienced mostly good fortune in 2019, at least in close games. They have 16 one-run victories this season, which is the most in all of MLB. That aforementioned run differential speaks to this being a below average team. They were just 1-5 vs. Colorado before yday's win and are 1-3 after allowing 10+ runs the previous game. 

Tonight's pitching matchup features two good starters, but I give the edge to German Marquez over Eric Lauer. Yes, the former has a much higher ERA and WHIP at home than on the road. But he still has a 7-1 TSR at Coors, so he knows how to win here. As for San Diego's Eric Lauer, he already has troubling numbers on the road (6.84 ERA), so Coors may not be for him. In fact, starting opposite Marquez here in May, Lauer gave up eight runs in only three innings. That was - by far - his worst outing all season. Marquez is unbeaten in three career starts vs. SD at home, posting a 2.93 ERA. 7* Colorado 

6* LA Dodgers (9:10 ET): The Dodgers have proven to be too strong for the Cubs thus far, taking the first two games of this series 7-3 and 5-3. As I said yday (took the Under and 'pushed.'), a pretty clear case can be made that this is the National League's best team. They have the best record (47-23) and best run differential (+111) w/ comfortable leads in both departments. At home is where they've really been dominant as their record at Chavez Ravine is now 27-7 and they're outscoring visitors by 2.3 runs per game! Save for Wednesday's win in Colorado (which I was on!), the Cubs have now dropped 9 of 10 away from the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field. 

Making matters even more difficult for the Cubbies tonight is they have to go against Walker Buehler. They've already faced Clayton Kershaw & Rich Hill. Buehler will be no reprieve in this department and tomorrow they'll have to see Hyun-Jin Ryu. So this series really did not set up well from the start. Buehler is 7-1 in 13 starts w/ a 0.982 WHIP and the Dodgers have won each of the last four times he's taken the mound. He's gone a combined 15 innings in his last two starts and given up just one run. As the Cubs have found out the "hard way" the L2 days, it is difficult to score here at Dodger Stadium, at least when you're the visitor. Opposing teams are scoring just 3.4 rpg here. The Cubs' scoring average on the road (5.6 rpg) was due to take a hit anyway. 

This could prove to be a challenging start for the Cubs' Yu Darvish. Last time he took the mound in this stadium was wearing Dodger Blue in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series and he basically cost his team the game. So expect a more fired up crowd here than usual for a game in June. Darvish has been a little better of late, but overall his numbers are still below par. The Cubs are just 1-6 as a road underdog of +125 to +175 this season. 6* LA Dodgers

10* Under Pirates/Marlins (6:10 ET): Pittsburgh has now gone Over in five straight games as well as 35 of their last 51 games overall. Lately, it had been them giving up runs in bunches (allowed 34 in four games at Atlanta), but last night was their turn to "turn it on at the plate" as they crushed Miami 11-0. While that singular win will help out the team's woeful YTD run differential (-77) some, I wouldn't think that we'll see any kind of repeat effort at the plate on Saturday. They're also facing a Miami team that has scored the fewest number of runs in the entire NL. Take the Under. 

So the Marlins were shutout yday, something that has turned into a bit of a regular occurrence in 2019. It was the 12th time it's happened this season and keep in mind they've played just 67 games total. So we're looking at almost one-fifth of the time they fail to even score a run. Just as bad of news for them today is that they are 0-4 this season after allowing 10+ runs the previous game. Last night was their seventh loss in the last eight games. In six of those seven losses, they were held to one run or less! One of the wins though (Wednesday) was a shutout of their own. 

Having Pablo Lopez on the bump tonight helps the Marlins' chances. He's made three straight quality starts (posting a 1.00 ERA and 0.778 WHIP) and has allowed 1 or 0 ER in four of his last five outings. Lopez also pitches much better here at home (1.78 ERA in six starts) than on the road. For the Pirates, Dario Agrazal is making his 1st big league start, becoming the 12th different pitcher to start a game for them in 2019. Agrazal looked great down in Triple-A, holding batters to a .216 average while posting a 0.97 WHIP. In 8 of his L10 starts, he went at least six innings while allowing two runs or less. So the Pirates have high hopes for him. So do I as the amount of scoring in their games is due to subside. A matchup w/ the NL's lowest scoring team is an ideal time for that to take place. 10* Under Pirates/Marlins

8* Under Brewers/Giants (4:10 ET): Based on Jimmy Nelson's first start for Milwaukee, the last thing you might want to do here is bet the Under. Facing the NL's weakest lineup (Miami), Nelson gave up five runs in only three innings, leading to a 12.33 ERA and 2.333 WHIP. However, that was also Nelson's first start since 2017 (missed all of last year recovering from right shoulder surgery). I think he'll pitch a lot better today as the Brew Crew look to bounce back from a 5-3 loss last night here in San Francisco. I'm on the Under.

Milwaukee could only manage three runs last night as they lost for just the second time in its last seven games. That was disappointing given the pitcher they were facing, Drew Pomeranz, who was 0-3 in May w/ a 19.16 ERA. It's a far more formidable task this afternoon going against Madison Bumgarner, who has had their number in the past w/ a 2.63 ERA in 12 starts. Bumgarner also comes into Saturday on a real roll. He's delivered four straight quality starts, including seven innings Sunday vs. the Dodgers where he allowed just one run and four hits. Unfortunately for him, the Giants lost that game 1-0.

The Giants are not a good offensive team, especially here at home where they're barely averaging 3.0 runs per game. So w/ Bumgarner on the hill, this sets up to be another really low-scoring game. SF is 28th in MLB in runs scored, 29th in team batting average and 29th in OPS. They did manage to homer three times in yday's victory, but I would not expect anything close to a repeat performance considering they'd hit just three HR's their previous five games behind. Nelson is better than what he showed in his return. Also, the Under is 13-2-1 the L16 times Milwaukee has faced a lefty starter. 8* Under Brewers/Giants 

10* Under Winnipeg/British Columbia (10:00 ET): The CFL's Western Division seems more wide open than usual this year as defending Grey Cup Champion Calgary took a pretty big hit in the talent department. All five teams in the division feel "this could be their year," perhaps not a realistic expectation, but that's what they're saying at least. For B.C., chances of improving on LY's 9-9 campaign due seem quite realistic thanks to the big free agent signing of QB Mike Reilly. However, I feel the O/U line has been set far too high for this season opener w/ Winnipeg and I'm going Under. 

Winnipeg finished a game better than B.C. last year and was also able to advance one round in the playoffs, something the Lions were unable to do. The Blue Bombers still haven't won a Grey Cup since 1990 and the strength of LY's team (offensive line) took a hit w/ two key defections - one via retirement, the other via free agency. That should affect the run game, which was quite productive for the Bombers a season ago. The defense should still be strong though. Last year, only Calgary surrendered fewer points. The Under is 5-1 in the Bombers' last 6 division contests. 

B.C. saw HC Wally Bueno retire, but his replacement is a good one as DeVone Claybrooks comes over from the Calgary staff. Claybrooks presided over the league's top defense a year ago, so expect that side of the ball to be a priority in year one. On offense, I think it'll take time for Reilly to gel w/ his new teammates. The Under has cashed in the Leos' last four season openers and I think Saturday night makes it five in a row. 10* Under Winnipeg/B.C.