Colorado Rockies vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 5/25/2022

Time: 12:35 p.m. ET

Venue: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

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

DraftKings: NL

BetMGM: Pirates -120, Rockies +100

Caesars: Pirates -125, Rockies +105

Rockies: 20-22

Pirates: 17-25

There's nothing worse than two teams with bad offenses meeting together for a lackluster game that goes to extra innings, but alas, we got that with the Colorado Avalanche winning 2-1 over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday.

The Rockies had seven of those 12 hits in the game, a sign that they sorely need more bats because things should not be this bad. Yet somehow the Rockies should celebrate because they somehow won a game despite C.J. Cron going 0-for-5. Jose Iglesias was the only one to have two hits in the game, and Kyle Freeland allowed just two hits in 4.1 innings.

But the hero of the day (shoutout to Metallica) was Connor Joe, whose lone hit was the go-ahead RBI single in the 10th to give the Rockies the lead and the eventual win.

"It felt unbelievable," Joe said. "It wasn't pretty but a win's a win and we're really thankful for that. We'll try to build off that and build some momentum for the rest of the road trip."

I guess we are on that side of the spectrum where it shouldn't matter how the Rockies win without Kris Bryant, but let alone the fact that they actually do. They're only two games below .500 now and can easily climb back to playoff contention status should they keep this up.

Daniel Bard, who has been one of the best closers all year long, pitched two scoreless innings to get the win.

"Daniel is the type of guy who can pitch through traffic," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "He's got outstanding stuff and he's having a great year."

The Pittsburgh Pirates continue to be one of the weirder teams in baseball. I don't understand how a team could be so close to breaking through and being an average team and then have the week it has to only look like they are that putrid.

The Pirates mustered one run through five hits, a giant 0-for-4 from Ke'Bryan Hayes after the big night he had in the last game. Roansy Contreras went five innings and struck out five, but nothing else could've been done in such a horrible baseball game.

Cal Mitchell drove in the lone run for the Pirates, as it was a day highlighted by rookies.

“It was amazing,” Mitchell said. “I couldn’t ask for anything more. After I got the hit, I was able to exhale and then it felt like any other game.”

Just looking through the batting order and seeing all the 0-hit games from batters that should not be struggling as much as they are. Alas, they are the Pirates of Pittsburgh, crashing the ship into the park repeatedly..

Lord may we all just get through this series unscathed, knowing that pitching does not exist and everything is a farce. For that reason alone, the Pirates will win because the game of baseball makes no sense. Pirates win 3-2

Rockies are 20-21 against NL Central teams the past three seasons.

Rockies are 46-80 on the road the past three seasons.

Pirates are 8-7 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 - TBD

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 - Zach Thompson

Batting average: C.J. Cron -- .311

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 -- .282

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