Colorado Rockies vs. San Diego Padres
Free Pick: Colorado Rockies (-124) – Thu July 16th 2009 10:05p
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Aaron Cook and the Rockies continue their pursuit of a playoff spot when they open the second half of the season against the Padres.

Cook has sizzled against San Diego in his career and he’s been especially dominate at Petco Park. Cooke is 5-1 with a 1.61 ERA in his last eight starts and is 12-4 with a 2.71 ERA lifetime against the Padres. He figures to improve on those numbers tonight against a San Diego squad that had lost seven in a row, averaging less than three runs per game before erupting for a 10-4 victory over San Francisco in the final game before the break. Overall Cooke is 8-3 with a 3.98 ERA. He along with all-star Jason Marquis have given Colorado a nice 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation.

Offensively, the Rockies remain one of the most dangerous teams in the NL. They’ve scored seven runs or more in three of its last five games, including an 8-7 win over Atlanta on Sunday to enter the break on a high note.

Colorado is 29-13 since Jim Tracy took over as manager and they’ve been a real cash cow especially on the road. The Rockies are 6th best in the majors with a 24-22 record and +879 units.

On the flip side, San Diego doesn’t have much going for it right now. The Padres are 8-21 in their last 29 games and 36-52 overall. They’ve played better at home posting a 23-20 record but the problem is scoring. They average just 3.8 runs per game and if it weren’t for Adrian Gonzalez they’d be dregging in Washington Nationals territory. Gonzalez has accounted for nearly 60% of the Padres offense with his 24 homeruns, 52 rbi’s and 49 runs scored. Even with Gonzo, San Diego ranks 30th in runs per game, batting average and OPS.

Chad Gaudin gets the start for the Padres. He’s 4-7 with a 5.03 ERA but has pitched better over his last three starts posting a 3.20 ERA with a WHIP of 1.07. He’ll need a huge effort tonight if San Diego is to have a shot.

Colorado is 5-3 on the season against San Diego but split their first two series meetings in the border city.

The Rockies are nine games behind the first-place Dodgers but just two back of the wild-card leading Giants. They’ve got the playoffs in mind while the Padres are already making plans for next season. Colorado is the play here.

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