Rockies vs Pirates Predictions, Picks, Odds

Gerrit Cole hasn’t won yet at PNC Park this season and he’ll be looking to put an end to this winless streak at home when he toes the rubber for Game 1 of a three-game series against the visiting Colorado Rockies. Read on for a breakdown of this matchup. You can also check out our preview of Cubs vs. Giants.

MLB World Series News and Previews

Colorado Rockies vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Preview

Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh

When: Friday, May 20, 2016, 7:05 PM ET

Line: Colorado Rockies (+175) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (-205) – view all MLB lines

TV Broadcast: ESPN

Betting on the Colorado Rockies (20-20)

Colorado didn’t have a nice Thursday, as they were absolutely lit up by St. Louis in a 13-7 road loss. The Rockies look to prevent a three-game skid later tonight, as they give the ball to Eddie Butler, who is also looking to notch another win.

Butler picked up his second win of the season in a 7-4 victory over the Mets. He did allow four earned runs on nine hits in just five innings of action, so his performance should be taken with a grain of salt. Butler has shown a bit of promise in one of his recent outings, blanking the Giants on four hits across six frames of a 2-0 win in San Francisco.

Still, Butler is a shaky starter for the Rockies to pin their hopes on. The right-hander’s going to need some offense behind him. Rockies starters are getting 5.54 RS/9 thus far this season.

DJ LeMahieu has the hottest bat among all Rockies hitters lately, as he’s hit 6-for-15 (.400) in his last five games. Carlos Gonzalez has only two hits in his last 23 at-bats but he could turn the corner at PNC Park, where he’s a career .284 hitter.

The under is 4-1 in Colorado’s last five road games.

Betting on the Pittsburgh Pirates (22-18)

If Gerrit Cole feels like running up to the hill and stomping his chest there, it’s perfectly understandable. Especially after the way he picked apart the powerful Cubs lineup in a 2-1 victory on May 15.

Cole had his stuff going against Chicago, allowing zero runs on three hits in eight innings of mound duty. He also struck out four. He’ll look to continue his success when he faces Colorado for the second time this year. Cole gave up two earned runs on eight hits in six innings during Pittsburgh’s 9-4 win in Colorado on April 26. The right-hander has a 4-3 record and a 3.05 ERA in seven starts thus far in 2016.

Looking to give Cole some wiggle room is the Bucs’ offense that ranks fifth in the majors in runs (200) and second in batting average (.281). Pittsburgh also outscored the going-nowhere Atlanta team in a recent four-game series, 29-17.

Gregory Polanco is batting .462 in the last seven games. Andrew McCutchen, meanwhile, is showing some real signs of improvement following an underwhelming April. He’s batting .281 with three home runs and eight RBIs thus far this month.

Pittsburgh is 9-1 in its last 10 home games against the Rockies.