This is an 8* on COLORADO

It takes a lot to want to play Colorado on the road, especially after two straight losses. There are nine teams with 40 or more home wins. Four reside in the National League West and the Rockies (43-22) are one of them. But they are just 17-50 outside of Coors after taking a 4-3 loss last night in Arlington. But this is the Rangers that they are still facing. At 47-85, Texas is having an even worse season than Colorado. That record is third worst overall. They are still a MLB-worst 12-30 since the All Star Break even though they’ve won three straight. The last time the Rangers won three in a row was July 31st-August 2nd. They have not won four in a row, or swept an opponent, since late June. It is difficult to see the home team prevailing today with Kohei Arihara starting. Making his first start since May, Arihara has a 6.59 ERA and 1.53 WHIP this season. His last three starts saw him give up 16 runs in 8.3 innings. Granted, that was a long time ago. But there’s no reason to expect a good performance here. Coming off shoulder surgery, Arihara will throw only 40-45 pitches before giving way to a bullpen that isn’t very good. The Rockies tend to struggle to score runs on the road, which is why the record is so bad, but they do have a DH at their disposal here. They also have Kyle Freeland and they are 5-0 in his previous five starts. Freeland also posted a 2.40 ERA in July. Over his last three starts, he’s beaten the Dodgers and Giants. So it stands to reason he should beat the Rangers. Play on COLORADO

AAA