The Rangers are 22-25 and somehow still favored on the road at Coors Field, which tells you everything about what the Rockies have going on right now. Texas just shoved Corey Seager onto the 10-day IL with back inflammation — he was hitless in 27 straight at-bats before the move, so this might honestly help — and Wyatt Langford and Josh Smith are already shelved. Smith is the brutal one: viral meningitis, hospitalized.
- Day-To-DayMacKenzie Gore SP — Gore (3-3) earned the win over Arizona on Tuesday, allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out five batters over eight innings.
- Day-To-DaySebastian Walcott SS — Rangers GM Ross Fenstermaker said Tuesday that Walcott could be ready for game action in August, "if all things according to plan" in his rehab from the internal brace procedure he underwent on his right elbow, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.
- 10-Day-ILWyatt Langford LF — Langford did a strength test on his right forearm Sunday and recovered well when re-evaluated Monday, though he hasn't been cleared to resume throwing or hitting yet, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.
- 10-Day-ILCorey Seager SS — Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said Monday on 105.3 The FAN that Seager (back) will be placed on the injured list, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.
- 10-Day-ILJosh Smith 2B — Smith (lower body/wrist) was diagnosed with viral meningitis Friday and is receiving treatment in a hospital, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILCody Freeman 3B — Freeman (back) will begin a rehab assignment with the Rangers' Arizona Complex League affiliate Thursday.
- 15-Day-ILLuis Curvelo RP — Curvelo (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Round Rock on Friday.
- 15-Day-ILChris Martin RP — Martin (biceps) is expected to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday or Wednesday, Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News reports.
- Day-To-DayBrayan Castillo RP — The Rockies announced Monday that Castillo is dealing with right lat tightness and has been shut down from throwing while undergoing treatment for the injury, TheDNVR.com reports.
- Day-To-DayCase Williams SP — Williams is currently slowed by a stress reaction in his right triceps, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.
- Day-To-DayJared Thomas CF — The Rockies announced Monday that Thomas hasn't been participating in spring training while he recovers from offseason surgery to address a fractured hamate bone in his right wrist, TheDNVR.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILJordan Beck LF — Beck went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI on Saturday against Atlanta.
- paternityTyler Freeman RF — Freeman went 2-for-6 with a solo home run and a stolen base in Friday's 9-7 extra-innings win over the Phillies.
- 15-Day-ILChase Dollander SP — Dollander was lifted from Thursday's start versus the Pirates in the second inning due to right arm tightness, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILJimmy Herget RP — The Rockies reinstated Herget (personal) from the bereavement list Tuesday.
- 15-Day-ILRyan Feltner SP — Feltner (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Hartford on Tuesday, MLB.com reports.
On the mound, Kumar Rocker takes the ball at 1-4 with a 4.34 ERA. The stuff still flashes, but the results haven't, and now he gets the most hitter-friendly park in the sport with a thinned-out lineup behind him. The Rangers' offense ranks among the worst in the league in OPS even at full strength, which makes the -1.5 spread feel optimistic regardless of whose name is on the Rockies lineup card.
Colorado counters with Sammy Peralta, who is technically the listed starter at 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA — because the Rockies just claimed him off waivers from Milwaukee in April and he's a 28-year-old lefty reliever. Manager Warren Schaeffer is reportedly planning to use him as a multi-inning piece, so read this as a bullpen game with extra steps. Chase Dollander hitting the IL with arm tightness is how you end up here.
Books still see Texas. Pinnacle has the Rangers at -116 on the moneyline with the total sitting at 10.5, and the EV on every side is negative — translation: there's no free money here, especially with DK hanging a much shorter 9.0 total than Pinnacle. The public is hammering Rangers ML at 77% of bets, which is the kind of split that usually makes sharps reach for the other side.
The pick-your-poison version: bet on Rocker figuring it out in Denver against a Rockies offense missing Kris Bryant and Jordan Beck, or trust Colorado's bullpen-by-committee to keep a Seager-less Rangers lineup quiet for 9 innings. Neither feels great. Coors weather plus two shaky pitching plans is the kind of script that prints an 8-7 final nobody saw coming.