Jon Gray (0-0, 9.00 ERA) and Jonathon Niese (3-0, 4.24 ERA) take the hill in the third of a four-game series between the Colorado Rockies (9-11) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (12-9) at Coors Field. The Pirates won the last game 9-4, and Pittsburgh leads the series 2-0. Action begins at 8:40 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Apr. 27 and can be seen on RTPT and RTRM.
Gray pitched 5.0 innings in his most recent start, surrendering five runs, striking out 10 and walking two in a 7-5 win over the Dodgers. Nolan Arenado (.273, 18 Rs, 8 HRs, 19 RBIs) continued his strong play yesterday, going 2 for 4 with one run, one home run, and two RBIs. Niese went 5.1 innings, surrendering four runs, striking out two and walking two in an 8-7 win over the Diamondbacks in his last outing. Gregory Polanco (.333, 15 Rs, 1 HR, 12 RBIs, 2 SBs) has been successful at the plate for the Pirates, going 2 for 4 yesterday with one run and one RBI.
The odds for Colorado and Pittsburgh are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable as of now. The Rockies have no trouble scoring as they rank third in the NL in offense with 0.0 runs per game. The Rockies are one of the best in the NL in terms of hits at home with a phenomenal 9.9 per game. Colorado’s pitching staff has been doing better against opposing offenses during the last 10 games, only allowing an average of 0.0 runs per game, well under their season average of 0.0. Opponents have consistently been struck out by the Rockies, who rank fifth in the NL in strikeouts per home game with 7.1.
Offensively, they average 0.0 runs per game, which is good for fifth in the NL. The Pirates capitalize on their at-bats at a high percentage, leading the league with a .293 team batting average. Pittsburgh is excellent at drawing walks with 4.3 per game, ranking second in the NL. The Pirates allow 0.0 runs per game, but have improved upon those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 0.0 runs per game during that span.
The Pirates have the edge in the season series, 2-0.
Predictions: SU Winner – COL
Notes
The Rockies managed to give up five walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Pirates who are coming in with an 8-3 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
It looks like the Pirates have a slight leg up on the Rockies, as the Pirates have won their last three games while the Rockies have lost their last four.
When they outhit their opponents, the Pirates are 10-3. The Rockies have an 8-0 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking sixth in runs, Colorado has earned 104 this season. Pittsburgh ranks fourth with 110 runs.
Ranking 10th, Colorado is in the top 10 of the league in walks, notching 65 this season. Pittsburgh ranks in the top five at second with 92.
The Rockies are 8-5 when they hit at least one home run. The Pirates perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 6-4 record.
