Rockies face Elimination in their second look at Lee
Cliff Lee was sensational in the opening game of the NLDS between the Phillies and the Rockies, throwing a complete game in a win for the Phils. Ubaldo Jimenez took the loss in that one, and the two meet again this time in Denver as Colorado looks to avoid elimination in game four.
This is the second time in less than a week that the two teams will be facing each other’s aces, and that familiarity could breed a higher scoring game, even in Coors Field where the forecasted temperature is hovering around 50 degrees. Jimenez is a flyball pitcher in a hitters ballpark, and that’s one of the reasons why Baseball Tonight’s Orestes Destrade favors Philadelphia in this one:
“I like the Phillies, mainly because Ubaldo Jimenez can be more of a flyball pitchers than a groundball/sinker pitcher.” Destrade told SprungOnSports.com. “Second time around in a short series benefits the powerful Phillies hitters.”
Philadelphia’s 4-6 hitters, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez and Jayson Werth each had two hits and drove in four of Philly’s five runs in the game, and they could do the greatest damage off of Jimenez in the game. But don’t overlook Lee also having a poor performance in the home base of Rocktober, with Denver fans still high off the Broncos 5-0 start and looking for a similar outcome for their Rox. Expect a higher scoring affair as Colorado faces elimination at 6:07 p.m. on TBS.
Monday Night Matchup- Keys To Success
New York Jets (3-1) @ Miami Dolphins (1-3)- 8:30 p.m. ESPN
New York Jets
1) Green On Brown- Everyone knows that Ronnie Brown will be handling the ball for a large percentage of the game, and it’ll be up for Rex Ryan’s front seven to limit the damage he does. Miami will obviously try to get Brown the ball in as many ways as possible and the biggest key is for the Jets to stop that.
2) Shake it off, Sanchez- Mark Sanchez had the first bad game of his young career in New Orleans, and Tony Sparano will try to show Sanchez a lot of different looks. Joey Porter should be in Sanchez’s face for a large percentage of the game.
3) Bring Along Braylon- Jerricho Cotchery is questionable for Monday’s game, which would make newly acquired WR Braylon Edwards even more important for the team’s success. Getting him in the flow of the game is extremely important, and will be needed to take the onus off of TE Dustin Keller is Cotchery does not play.
Miami Dolphins
1) Keep the Defense Guessing- Giving New York different looks is huge with Brown, Ricky Williams, and giving Chad Henne a whole lot of safe passing looks. Not being a passing team against a CB like Darrelle Revis is actually a nice advantage for the Dolphins.
2) Get On The Mark- Stopping the running game with Thomas Jones and Leon Washington puts more pressure on Mark Sanchez to get the job done, and getting to him with a pass rush that got six sacks last week against Buffalo should be a lot easier if the run is contained.
3) Control Time of Possession- The strength of the Jets is their defense, and running the ball will not only keep the Jets’ offense off the field but tire out their defense. That’s enormous.
The Bottom Line
-Both teams will try to control the ball, but look for the Jets to force one more turnover and eke out a very close win.
NY Jets 24- Miami 23
