Justin Steele had a really excellent regular season debut at Wrigley Field to start the year (5.0 scoreless innings against the Brewers), but he has a more difficult task ahead of him tonight against the Rockies in Coors Field. And that’s not only because of the location.
It’s obviously not a huge sample size just yet, but the Rockies have really hit left-handed pitching well this season: .320/.407/.467 (145 wRC+). That includes six doubles (3rd in MLB), a triple (t-1st), a homer, and six walks in 87 PAs (3rd most against LHP in MLB so far this year). The good news is that the Rockies have also been hitting a TON of ground balls this season (both against lefties and just overall). Of course, the Cubs best available shortstop, Nico Hoerner, is not in the lineup. So … call it a wash?
As for the Rockies starter, Kyle Freeland, he was torched for 5 runs in 3.2 innings against the Dodgers (five hits and two walks) in his regular season debut. But the Cubs lineup tonight and the Dodgers typical group are … very different this year. So don’t go dreaming just yet. The Cubs bats were very quiet in Pittsburgh against mediocre (at best) pitching.
It’s a late one tonight, but I’ll be up with you the entire way (got my Starbucks and everything). So good luck, Justin Steele. And go Cubs!
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (3-2) at Colorado Rockies (4-1) – Thursday, April 14 at 7:40 CT on Marquee, 670 The Score
Bet of the Day:
DraftKings has a +200 boost for any player to homer in tonight’s Cubs-Rockies game. So given that it’s taking place at Coors Field and there’s a lefty on the mound, Seiya Suzuki feels like a pretty good bet. Possibly any of the Cubs right-handed sluggers, though. Willson Contreras, for example, has been hitting the ball extremely hard lately:
Willson Contreras is one of two qualified hitters with an average exit velocity OVER 100 MPH this season. The other is Joey Gallo.
Contreras has a 2nd best in MLB 77.8 hard% through the early going.
— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) April 14, 2022
Starting Pitchers
Rockies: Kyle Freeland (L)
versus
Cubs: Justin Steele (L)
Chicago Cubs (Lineup Discussion):
1. Clint Frazier, DH
2. Nick Madrigal, 2B
3. Jonathan Villar, SS
4. Frank Schwindel, 1B
5. Seiya Suzuki, RF
6. Yan Gomes, C
7. Michael Hermosillo, CF
8. Ian Happ, LF
9. Patrick Wisdom, 3B
Colorado Rockies:
1. Connor Joe, DH
2. Charlie Blackmon, RF
3. Kris Bryant, LF
4. C.J. Cron, 1B
5. Brendan Rodgers, 2B
6. Ryan McMahon, 3B
7. Elias Diaz, C
8. Jose Iglesias, SS
9. Yonathan Daza, CF