For the second straight years, pundits and bettors alike were mostly high on the Rockies entering the season, expecting them to challenge for the National League West crown. <\/p>\n
Sunday Night Baseball Betting \u2013 Rockies vs Cardinals Preview & Pick<\/strong> Colorado Rockies (55-64 through August 11)<\/strong> But it hasn\u2019t played out that way.<\/p>\n Offensively, the Rockies have been more or less fine. Troy Tulowitzki is still a stud; Carlos Gonzalez has regressed slightly but has still proven last year\u2019s offensive explosion wasn\u2019t a fluke; and Todd Helton has enjoyed a nice resurgence.<\/p>\n The Rockies\u2019 pitching hasn\u2019t been up to snuff, however. Ubaldo Jimenez got himself shipped out of town a year after establishing himself as a true ace. Jorge De La Rosa blew out his elbow.<\/p>\n Even Esmil Rogers hasn\u2019t been very good at all despite his 6-1 record. That said, he\u2019s looked impressive since rejoining the rotation at the end of July, allowing two earned runs or fewer in three straight starts (all victories).<\/p>\n St. Louis Cardinals (63-55 through August 11)<\/strong> The St. Louis Cardinals are eight games over .500 despite playing all year without Adam Wainwright, so you can\u2019t really call their 2011 season a failure to date. But that doesn\u2019t change the fact that they are slipping in the NL Central as the Milwaukee Brewers pull away. The Cards can\u2019t afford any losing streaks right now. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]<\/p>\n Edwin Jackson has made three starts since arriving in St. Louis at the trade deadline and he\u2019s been vintage Jackson, as inconsistent as ever. He allowed one run in his Cardinals debut but was epically bad in his second start, allowing 10 runs, eight earned, and four homers on 14 hits over seven innings. <\/p>\n After that, he bounced back with six innings of two-run ball.<\/p>\n COL are 7-19 in their last 26 Sun. games. The big question entering this matchup is…what version of Jackson will show up? His lifetime record against the Rockies is horrific. He has a 17.28 ERA over five starts <\/em>against them. That\u2019s 32 earned runs in 16.2 innings. They bat .432 off him. <\/p>\n And it isn\u2019t just a Coors Field thing. His ERA at Colorado is \u201conly\u201d 15.75. The Rockies just haunt his dreams wherever he goes.<\/p>\n Rogers seems to have figured things out since rejoining Colorado\u2019s rotation and he keeps the ball in the park well, which should help against a longball-reliant St. Louis team.<\/p>\n This could be ugly for Jackson; eight current Rocky hitters have a lifetime OPS above 1.0000 against him.<\/p>\n
\nDate: <\/strong>Sunday, August 14, 2011
\nVenue: <\/strong>Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO
\nBroadcast: <\/strong>ESPN
\nColorado Rockies at St. Louis Cardinals Betting Lines from Sportsbook.com<\/strong>
\nMoney Line: Cards -153<\/strong>
\nOver\/Under: 9 -125<\/strong>
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\nEsmil Rogers (6-1, 5.85)<\/p>\n
\n(Edwin Jackson (8-8, 4.07)<\/p>\nMLB Trends:<\/h3>\n
\nOver is 6-2 in STL last 8 games following a loss.
\nUnder is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings.
\nCOL are 2-7 in the last 9 meetings.<\/p>\nFree MLB pick:<\/h3>\n