The Colorado Rockies are riding high after a thrilling 6-2 comeback victory over the New York Mets at Coors Field, capped by a late grand slam from Jake McCarthy and another solid home outing from José Quintana. It was one of the season's most satisfying wins for the Rockies (15-23), but now they hit the road for a three-game series in Philadelphia against a Phillies team (17-21) that has won eight of its last ten.
The Phillies may be hot, but they're still below .500 in a season that was supposed to be more convincing. Meanwhile, the Rockies bring momentum from a 4-2 road trip their last time away from Denver. Both teams enter the series with identical 4.67 team ERAs, though the Phillies miss more bats and boast stronger underlying numbers. The Rockies have been more contact-heavy and prone to home runs—a difference that could be magnified at Citizens Bank Park.
Tonight's pitching matchup features two young left-handers with intriguing storylines. Chase Dollander (3-2, 3.38 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 42 strikeouts in 37 1/3 innings) gets just his second true start of the season after Colorado has mostly used him behind openers. He's already faced Philadelphia once this year, tossing 4 1/3 innings of relief in April and allowing just one run on four hits with six strikeouts.
On the other side, Jesús Luzardo (3-3, 5.09 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 51 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings) looks much tougher than his ERA suggests. After allowing 24 earned runs over his first four starts, he has surrendered just three earned runs over his last three outings. The Rockies saw the good version in April, when Luzardo struck out 11 over 6 2/3 innings.
The Phillies lineup may not be as imposing top to bottom as the names suggest, but Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper have been elite—and that's plenty dangerous at Citizens Bank Park. Colorado is countering with a right-handed-heavy lineup, hoping to make the strikeout lefty work a little harder.
So what wins out tonight: a confident Rockies team fresh off a comeback or a Phillies squad that's heating up at home? One thing's for sure—this series opener has all the makings of a classic.