The Houston Astros will take on the Colorado Rockies Monday night. The Astros are coming off a brutal 12-10 defeat to the Athletics last night. In that game the bullpen struggled and gave up 8 runs. This has been a theme for the Astros as their bullpen has a 5.85 ERA this season giving up 26 runs already this year. On the mound for the Astros will be Cody Bolton. Bolton pitched well in his first game giving up 3 hits and 1 run through 3 innings against the Boston Red Sox. The issue with Bolton is that he has minimal experience in the MLB, only pitching 5 innings since the 2024 season. Additionally, he will be playing in Colorado where home runs can be abundant. With Bolton being a relief pitcher, it does not give me much confident in the pitching lineup for the Astros.
For the Rockies, they are coming off an upset victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. While the batting has not been good for the Rockies, the pitching has been impressive. This season their bullpen has an ERA of 2.91 only giving up 14 runs this season. On the mound for the Rockies will be Ryan Feltner. Feltner is coming off a great start where he went 3 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays only giving up 1 hit and no runs. Looking at last season, Feltner had a better ERA at home so we should expect a strong start form him today. Overall, the pitching of the Astros has been rough and running a bullpen game in Colorado is risky. I am taking the Rockies on the money line.
Astros vs Rockies prediction: Rockies ML (+160) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.