Colorado Rockies vs. Chicago Cubs Play-in Game Odds, Analysis, MLB Betting Pick

The Colorado Rockies (91-72) will play in a different city for the third time in three days Tuesday when they visit the Chicago Cubs (95-68) as small road underdogs in the National League Wild Card game.

Both the Cubs and Rockies are coming off losses in divisional tiebreaker games on Monday, with Chicago falling 3-1 at home to the Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado dropping a 5-2 decision to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

MLB betting line: The Cubs opened as -128 favorites (wager $128 to win $100); the total is at 7.5 runs, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report)

Check out the OddsShark podcast on iTunes or Spotify or at OddsShark.libsyn.com for more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week's top sports betting news.

Why the Rockies can pay on the MLB lines

The Rockies went 44-38 on the road during the regular season, including Monday's setback. But they still have life and will be playing a reeling Cubs team that probably should not even be in this position right now. Chicago is just 6-6 in its last 12 games while Colorado got into the postseason by winning nine of 11.

The Rockies will send southpaw Kyle Freeland (17-7, 2.85 ERA) to the hill, and he has not suffered a loss since August 1. Since then, they are 10-1 in Freeland's last 11 starts, with him going a perfect 8-0 during that stretch. He is 12-4 with a 2.49 ERA in 21 starts under the lights.

Why the Cubs can pay on the MLB lines

The Cubs have a lot more playoff experience and hope that will benefit them in this situation. Countering Freeland will be a pitcher who has been here before in veteran Jon Lester (18-6, 3.32 ERA), who also finished strong to close out the regular season. Lester has gone 6-1 in his last eight outings with one no-decision that Chicago rallied to win anyway after he left the game.

Lester has not allowed more than three runs in any of his starts over that period and pitched well in his lone appearance versus Colorado back on April 30, giving up two unearned runs and five hits in 5.2 innings of a 3-2 victory.

Smart betting pick

The Rockies have fared well against the Cubs over the past two seasons, going 8-5 in 13 meetings, according to the OddsShark MLB Database. In addition, they are 6-2 in their last eight games at Wrigley Field. Take Colorado to pull off the upset on the road.

MLB betting trends

Colorado is 9-2 in its last 11 games.

The total has gone under in 11 of Colorado's last 15 games on the road.

The total has gone under in six of Chicago's last nine games.

All MLB odds and betting trends according to Bleacher Report's official odds partner, OddsShark. Check out OddsShark on Twitter and Instagram or head to YouTube for more betting picks and analysis on this week's top games. You can also download the free odds tracker app.