Colorado Rockies vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 5/24/2022

Time: 6:35 p.m. ET

Venue: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Where to watch: AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain, AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh

DraftKings: NL

BetMGM: NL

Caesars: NL

Rockies: 19-22

Pirates: 17-24

Another day, another headscratcher from the Colorado Rockies. A game they should've won, could've won, but couldn't get enough offensive production especially after being shut out on Sunday in the series loss to the New York Mets.

Colorado had just seven hits with the only run coming on a fielder's choice double play. Other than that, nothing noteworthy for the Rockies. C.J. Cron went 0-for-4, Connor Joe went 2-for-5 in the leadoff spot, and there was nothing else to be had. Chad Kuhl couldn't get out of the fifth inning, lasting just 4.2 innings and walking four.

"He was a little erratic obviously, but the positive is he made some pitches when he really needed to and got some huge outs," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "It's really good to see when a pitcher is not on top of his game and wiggles out of it. He kept a cool head and didn't rattle. I really liked the battle for Chad Kuhl."

The Rockies continue to just coast for no reason while hoping Kris Bryant gets this back issue resolved that's taken a big hit to the Colorado offense. They're only three games below .500 so it's not like it's dire straights, but when you watch the Rockies early and think they can contend with how well they're hitting the ball, it's primarily been because of Cron and the addition of Bryant. When only one of them is going, it takes out the second half of your lineup.

The Rockies need to get some consistency going and get some offense flowing if people want to take them seriously in the NL West.

It's been about as rough the last few weeks as one could imagine for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but they at least got back in the winning column with a 2-1 win over the Colorado Rockies in the first game of their series on Monday in PNC Park.

And if you're a Pirates fan looking for any sort of bright spot to what's been an otherwise blah season, always remember you have Ke'Bryan Hayes hitting the ball. The Pirates' star had three hits and scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning to secure the victory.

Hayes also drove in the first run of the game back in the first inning, an RBI double.

"It's hard to get runs at this level," Hayes said. "We're not a team that's going to hit three or four home runs in a game. We're just trying to keep the line moving and get those big hits whenever we can and move guys over."

Thankfully that's all the Pirates needed because they ended up being 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position. The Pirates also got a quality start from JT Brubaker, going 6.2 innings and striking out four. He's still looking for his first win of the season, but he did lower his ERA to 4.64.

The Pirates had nine hits, but also committed two errors on defense. Fortunately, the Rockies' inconsistencies allowed them to keep the game as close as it was.

We can all agree on one thing: Thankfully, they didn't lose 18-4 again.

I'm not feeling confident in the Rockies right now, and even though the Pirates don't have a listed starter to this point, I trust them at home after holding the Rockies to just one run on Monday to come back and get another win. I still haven't figured out if that means I have more confidence in the Pirates, or just the Rockies are horrible right now. Pirates win 5-3

Rockies are 19-21 against NL Central teams the past three seasons.

Rockies are 45-80 on the road the past three seasons.

Pirates are 8-6 against left-handed starters this season.

Rockies:
Connor Joe (R) DH
Charlie Blackmon (L) RF
C.J. Cron (R) 1B
Ryan McMahon (L) 3B
Brendan Rodgers (R) 2B
Randal Grichuk (R) CF
Jose Iglesias (R) SS
Sam Hilliard (L) LF
Elias Diaz (R) C
SP - Kyle Freeland

Pirates:
Ben Gamel (L) LF
Ke'Bryan Hayes (R) 3B
Bryan Reynolds (S) CF
Daniel Vogelbach (L) DH
Yoshi Tsutsugo (L) 1B
Josh VanMeter (L) 2B
Rodolfo Castro (S) SS
Jack Suwinski (L) RF
Michael Perez (L) C
SP - TBD

Batting average: C.J. Cron -- .321

Hits: C.J. Cron -- 51

Home runs: C.J. Cron -- 11

RBI: C.J. Cron -- 32

Wins: Two tied -- 3

Saves: Daniel Bard -- 10

ERA: Chad Kuhl -- 3.67

Batting average: Ke'Bryan Hayes -- .290

Hits: Ke'Bryan Hayes -- 40

Home runs: Daniel Vogelbach -- 6

RBI: Three tied -- 15

Wins: Dillon Peters -- 3

Saves: David Bednar -- 8

ERA: JT Brubaker -- 4.64