None of that is likely to move a market that isn't posted yet anyway — this preview runs well ahead of odds, with both clubs still needing to play through other business first.
The Cardinals arrive having gone 3-2 over their last five, capped by a 13-8 blowout of the Dodgers in which St. Louis got back-to-back homers from the bottom of the order. They also split a set with Pittsburgh and beat Baltimore before that — a scattered stretch, but a winning one. Before landing in Colorado, though, St. Louis still has two more games at Los Angeles and then opens this very series in Denver on Thursday, so whatever shape the roster is in by Saturday could look different than it does today.
Colorado, sitting at 53-86 with the worst record in the National League, has lost 4 of its last 5 — a stretch that included being swept for 3 straight by Atlanta before salvaging the finale of a set with Baltimore. The Rockies have quietly leaned on the farm system to patch the roster, recalling infielder Adael Amador and reliever Blas Castano from Triple-A Albuquerque in recent weeks, according to Purple Row.
This is game 2 of the series for both clubs — the opener lands Thursday, September 4, so how that one goes will shape who's rested, who's available out of the bullpen, and who's even still standing by the time Saturday's first pitch arrives. For a Rockies team already running short-handed on pitching and a Cardinals team piecing together an infield, that middle game matters more than usual.
Coors Field has a way of making shaky pitching staffs look worse and shaky bullpens look worse still, which is the backdrop for whichever arms actually take the ball Saturday. Neither team is playing for much beyond pride at this point in the season, but for the young players getting extended run — Amador in Colorado, whoever fills in around St. Louis's infield — this is exactly the kind of game that decides who's part of next year's picture.