This article is part of our MLB Picks series.
MLB Bets Today: Expert Picks and Player Props for Rockies vs. Brewers, Aug. 9
Colorado Rockies 
vs. Milwaukee Brewers 
Today's matchup between the Colorado Rockies and the Milwaukee Brewers will be played at American Family Field in Milwaukee, but the boxscore at game's end might look more like one that was played at Coors Field.
Chris Flexen will be on the mound for the Rockies, which doesn't bode well for Colorado. Flexen's season has been nothing short of a nightmare.
In 19 appearances this season, Flexen is sporting a gnarly 7.82 ERA, he's been smacked around to the tune of a .343 opponent batting average, and has allowed more traffic on the basepaths than the I-90 in Chicago, as evidenced by his 1.93 WHIP.
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Now, Adrian Houser will get the ball for the Brewers, and he hasn't been too great himself. Houser is sitting on a 4.19 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP in 15 appearances, but he does have two quality starts in his last three outings; including one against the Atlanta Braves.
Houser has been like a 2002 Chevy Malibu, a little rusty with a loud muffler, but he still gets you where you need to go. Flexen is like a 1993 Toyota Tercel sitting on cinderblocks in the backyard. He's not taking anyone anywhere because the wheels have come off.
Milwaukee's lineup has a 2:10 PM tee time against Flexen, and plenty of these Brew Crew bats will be swinging on Wednesday.
Sal Frelick sliced right through the Minor Leagues like a hot knife through butter, and has continued his ascent in the big leagues. The 23-year old outfielder has recorded a .962 OPS in his first 45 Major League at-bats.
Since Frelick's debut on July 22, he has recorded 15 RBI. Only Pete Alonso, Matt Olson, Dansby Swanson, Cody Bellinger and Bobby Witt J.r. have collected more during that span.
It's fair to say that Christian Yelich is back, maybe not back in the MVP conversation, but back to being a threat anytime he steps into the box. The former NL MVP has been solid atop the Brewers' order this year, posting a .289/.374/.469 slashline.
Yelich's splits make him a favorable matchup against Flexen as well, as Yelich holds a subpar .620 OPS against lefties, but a shiny .924 OPS against righties. Yelich has also been a day-game beast, posting a .955 OPS in the day compared to a .762 OPS at night. The afternoon first pitch should work just fine for Yelich.
Another man to keep an eye on: William Contreras.
Contreras is batting .282 this season, which is fine, but he is hitting a Paul Molitor-esque .344 in the last 30 games.
It's hard to trust the Rockies offense to keep up here, mainly because their lineup has looked really weird since the trade deadline. They did get second baseman Brendan Rodgers back from the IL recently, but they're still waiting on the returns of Kris Bryant and Charlie Blackmon.
Colorado will need another two-homer performance from Nolan Jones, just like yesterday's matchup, but that doesn't seem likely. Only Jones and Ryan McMahon have an OPS north of .800 in this lineup, so maybe they get some thunder from someone like Michael Toglia, Ezequiel Tovar or Alan Trejo.
Those guys could step up, but I'm not betting on it.
Since June 1, no team in baseball has struck out at a higher clip than the Rockies. If they can't get to Houser early, it won't get easier against this Brewers bullpen. In that same timeframe, Milwaukee's bullpen has produced the MLB's seventh-best bullpen ERA of 3.46, a whole two runs better than Colorado's 28th-ranked bullpen (5.46 ERA).
If Houser can keep the Rockies' bats quiet and get the ball over to the bullpen with any lead at all, the Brewers can pick up a win and safely hold onto their NL Central lead.
MLB Best Bets for Rockies vs. Brewers
- Brewers -1.5 (-114 FanDuel)
- Christian Yelich 2+ Hits (+185 FanDuel)
- Sal Frelick 2+ Hits (+260 FanDuel)
- William Contreras 1+ RBI (+120 FanDuel)
