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The Arizona Diamondbacks welcome the Colorado Rockies to Chase Field Thursday for Opening Day. First pitch is set for 10:10 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Rockies vs. Diamondbacks odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: First meeting; Diamondbacks won series 10-3 in 2023
The Diamondbacks finished 2nd in the NL West last season with a 84-78 record. They made it to the World Series where they lost 4-1 to the Texas Rangers. Arizona added a plethora of high-octane bats in the offseason and have World Series aspirations, ideally besting its 43-38 home record from 2023.
The Rockies finished last in the NL West, 20 games behind the 4th-place San Francisco Giants. Colorado was 22-59 on the road and 59-103 on the season. It didn’t do much to increase its playoff chances and should again be among the worst teams in the NL this season.
Rockies at Diamondbacks projected starters
LHP Kyle Freeland vs. RHP Zac Gallen
Freeland went 6-14 with a 5.03 ERA last season. He finished with a 1.47 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9 and 5.4 K/9 in 155 2/3 IP.
- Has slipped after a strong start to his career and own above a 4.30 ERA for 5 straight seasons.
- Faced Arizona 3 times last season, allowing 10 runs in 17 2/3 IP
Gallen went 17-9 with a 3.47 ERA last season, earning his 1st All-Star appearance. He finished with a 1.12 WHIP, 2.0 BB/9 and 9.4 K/9 in 210 IP.
- Has ended each of the last 2 seasons (65 starts) with a 3.50 ERA or lower
- Faced Colorado once last season, earning the win after 6 IP, 0 ER
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Rockies at Diamondbacks odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:54 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Rockies +198 (bet $100 to win $198) | Diamondbacks -240 (bet $240 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Rockies +1.5 (-105) | Diamondbacks -1.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Rockies at Diamondbacks picks and predictions
Prediction
Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 2
Moneyline
PASS.
There’s no good value here as the home favorite (Arizona at -240) is too expensive to play outright.
Run line/Against the spread
BET DIAMONDBACKS -1.5 (-115).
Arizona throttled the Colorado at home last season. The Diamondbacks were 6-1 outright and covered a 1.5-run spread in 5 of those 7. In Gallen’s lone start, the Diamondbacks won 5-1. Arizona was the 5th-best covering team in the MLB last season with a 97-82 ATS record. Colorado was just 80-82.
Also, the Diamondbacks did more in the offseason and improved while the Rockies did little and Arizona should see similar success to a season ago. Arizona was 45-43 ATS at home last season.
It has the pitching and batting edge in this game. Take DIAMONDBACKS -1.5 (-115).
Over/Under
LEAN UNDER 8.5 (-105).
If there’s one thing neither team was good at last season, it was going Over the projected total. Arizona was 78-93-8 O/U a season ago with Colorado 74-87-1 O/U.
In the matchup that both Freeland and Gallen started a season ago, the total ended at 6. Both teams ended in the bottom half of the league in hits last season as well.
Expect a low-scoring game and back UNDER 8.5 (-105).
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