Rockies Road Baseball Betting Faves Against Houston on Thursday Night

The Colorado Rockies are the favorites to beat the Houston Astros on Thursday night. The main reason for this is because Colorado sends Ubaldo Jimenez to the mound. Jimenez has been spectacular in 2010. Not only did he throw the no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves on April 17th, but he’s also only given up 2 runs in 2 out of his 8 starts this season.

Colorado has been one of the more solid baseball bets in the sportsbook when Jimenez is on the mound. His ERA is an amazing 1.12. His record is an incredible 7 and 1 and his WHIP is an astronomical .99. Jimenez is on the fast track to the Cy Young Award. Okay, he might end up in a 3-way shake with Roy Halladay from Philadelphia and Tim Lincecum from San Francisco. Still, Jimenez has been as impressive as any pitcher in the N.L. this season.

Houston sends their top guy to the mound to battle Jimenez on Thursday night. Roy Oswalt has been awesome for years, but, for years, he’s never received the run support necessary in order to win games. 2010 is no different. Oswalt has a 2.62 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP yet he’s compiled a record of 2 and 5.

Colorado Rockies vs. Houston Astros

Where: Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas

When: May 20th at 8:05 pm EST

Baseball Wagering Run Line in the MLB Sportsbook

Colorado Rockies
Ubaldo Jimenez – R -1 ½ +115

Houston Astros
Roy Oswalt – R +1 ½ -135

Because of Jimenez, the trends clearly favor the Rockies in this game.

• The Colorado Rockies are 8 and 1 in Ubaldo Jimenez’s last 9 starts versus a team with a losing record.
• The Colorado Rockies are 7 and 1 in Ubaldo Jimenez’s last 8 starts.
• The Houston Astros are 0 and 5 in their last 5 games at home versus a team with a road winning percentage of less than .400.
• The Houston Astros are 2 and 8 in their last 10 home games versus a right-handed starter.

Even though the trends favor the Rockies in this game, Colorado has never had success against Roy Oswalt. Oswalt is 7 and 1 with a 1.78 ERA in 10 career starts versus the Rockies. In his last 3 starts, Oswalt has gone 2 and 0 with a .78 ERA against Colorado.

Those are impressive numbers. They’re as impressive as Jimenez’s numbers and are some of the reasons that the Astros definitely have a chance to win this game outright. I’m not going to bet it that way, however.

Houston is one of the worst scoring teams in MLB. The ‘Stros average only 3.05 runs per game and the only reason that average is up to 3.05 is because they racked up 7 runs against Colorado on May 19th.

The Astros won’t rack up that many runs again. Instead, they’ll most likely score 1 to 2 runs like they normally do to back up Oswalt’s effort tonight. Because of that, I can’t make a bet in the baseball sportsbook on the ‘Stros to win this game outright. I’m going to be conservative and bet them on the run line.

That 1 ½ runs could make all of the difference in this game.

MLB Free Pick: Houston Astros and Roy Oswalt +1 ½ -135