Rockies and Giants Collide in a Battle of Basement Dwellers
Two teams with losing records and fading seasons meet Friday night at Oracle Park — but that doesn't mean there's nothing to watch. Hunter Goodman's power surge and a pitching matchup between two starters with something to prove make this more interesting than the standings suggest.
Let's be honest about what this game is: Colorado at 48-73 and San Francisco at 50-71 are two organizations grinding through difficult summers. Neither club is playing for October. But late-season games between struggling teams can produce genuinely unpredictable baseball, and this one has enough individual storylines to hold your attention.
On the Colorado side, Hunter Goodman is the name that demands attention. Thirty-four home runs and 69 RBI are legitimate power numbers — the kind of production that turns heads regardless of team context. Jake McCarthy adds a different dimension, hitting .300 on the season and giving the Rockies a contact option at the top of the lineup. Kyle Freeland is expected to start for Colorado, and how he handles Oracle Park's historically pitcher-friendly environment will be worth tracking. For San Francisco, Rafael Devers brings 24 home runs and 64 RBI to the lineup — a genuine middle-of-the-order threat who can change a game in a single at-bat. Jung Hoo Lee's .293 average gives the Giants a reliable contact bat to work around Devers, and Landen Roupp is set to take the mound for the home side.
Our model doesn't have a validated read on this one, so I'm not going to manufacture conviction where there isn't any. What I will say is this: when two power hitters like Goodman and Devers share a box score, the over becomes a conversation worth having. Goodman's 34 home runs aren't a fluke — that's a guy locked in — and Devers has the track record to match him swing for swing. Freeland and Roupp will need to be sharp to keep this from turning into a slugfest. First pitch is 10:15 PM ET at Oracle Park, available on MLB.TV, NBC Sports BA, and Rockies.TV.