Padres vs. Rockies Betting Pick, DFS Plays – April 22: Hitters Paradise Perhaps

A good rule of thumb is to almost always consider games played in Colorado first and foremost when selecting your daily fantasy roster.  This is, after all, a hitters paradise in Major League Baseball.  An added enticement is that the Rockies appear to be an improved team this season.

Best Bets:  Rockies +115

Best DFS Picks: Justin Upton, Justin Morneau , Nolan Arenado, Carlos Gonzalez, Alexi Amarista

Padres vs. Rockies – PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres RH James Shields (2-0, 2.84 ERA) vs. Rockies RH Kyle Kendrick (1-2, 7.56)

Betting Line:  Rockies +115, Padres -120, Total: 10

Shields yielded four runs (three earned) and five hits the other day against the Cubs.

He is 1-1 with a 5.25 ERA in two starts at Coors Field

Three Rockies players have hit especially well versus Shields in the past.  A few others have had mild success against him. 

Nolan Arenado (Colorado) was a late scratch Tuesday night due to a sore wrist.  He might be a risky play Wednesday but, if slated to start, Arenado should definitely be in play.  He has hit 4-for-5 versus Shields with one homerun.  Arenado is worth the $4700 price tag here provided he’s healthy.

Carlos Gonzalez (Colorado) – 5-for-9 with two homers against Shields.

Justin Morneau (Colorado) – He is 15-for-47 against Shields with four homeruns.  He’s had 11 RBIs over that time period.  He’s priced at $4000.

Justin Upton (San Diego) – He’s 8-for-23 versus Kendrick with two home runs.   He has hit 7-for-21 at bats with 4 runs scored over the past seven days.  His price of $4500 has some value.   Upton has a 17-game hitting streak against Colorado (.397, five home runs, 13 RBIs).

Alexi Amarista (San Diego) – With 13 at bats over the past seven days, Amarati has hit three and scored two.  More importantly, he’s 2-for-7 against Kendrick with one home run scored.  There were 3 RBIs. 

The OVER is 16-5-1 in San Diego’s last 22 road games.

The Padres are just 3-8 in their last 11 road games vs. a right-handed starter and they are just 2-10 in their last 12 games as a road favorite (1-8 in their last 9 games as a road favorite of -110 to -150).

We here at Gambling911.com do not know if there is enough of a hitting advantage on either club to get over the 10 total but, aside from Upton and maybe Amarista, Kendrick has an opportunity to make up for a poor last outing versus a roster he has mostly kept in check and the +115 line has value.

San Diego has won four of the last five in the series but the two clubs have split wins and losses over their past eight meetings.

- Dan Shapiro, Gambling911.com