5-3-24 – By Ethan Smith – @mvp_EtHaN
After a west coast road trip that saw the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates drop five of six to the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics, the Pirates return home to PNC for their longest home stand so far this season, beginning with the Colorado Rockies.
As mentioned, the Pirates enter this series losers of four consecutive games and five of their last games, but their struggles offensively date back to a few weeks ago, as since April 14, they have scored 4+ runs in a game just three times, so something has to give for the offense eventually.
Meanwhile, the pitching staff, particularly starting pitching, has played quite well for the Pirates, as the entire staff ranks 13th in ERA at 3.80.
The Colorado Rockies haven’t had any success to begin 2024, entering this series without a series victory on the season and coming off the wrong side of a sweep against the Miami Marlins, whom the Pirates swept to begin the year.
The offense hasn’t been all that bad, as the Rockies are hitting for a combined slash line of .238/.304/.366/.670, but as history suggests, the pitching has been their Achilles heel to begin to the season.
The Rockies pitching staff currently ranks last in baseball in WHIP with a 1.61 while also ranking last in batting average against with a .292 clip, so for the Pirates offense, this is as good an opportunity as they’ll get to right the ship offensively.
You have two teams entering this series struggling and looking to turn their fortunes for the better in a matchup of below-.500 teams, let’s see who can right the ship.
05/03
Pirates – Martin Perez(LHP) – 1-1, 34.2 IP, 2.86 ERA, 27 Ks/13 walks, 1.36 WHIP
Rockies –Cal Quantrill(RHP) – 0-3, 32.0 IP, 5.34 ERA, 17 Ks/14 walks, 1.50 WHIP
05/04
Pirates – Jared Jones(RHP)– 2-3, 34.0 IP, 3.18 ERA, 43 Ks/5 walks, 0.91 WHIP
Rockies– Austin Gomber(LHP) – 0-2, 32.0 IP, 4.50 ERA, 22 Ks/11 walks, 1.34 WHIP
05/05
Pirates – Bailey Falter(LHP) – 2-2, 32.0 IP, 4.22 ERA, 23 Ks/ 7 walks, 0.94 WHIP
Rockies– Ryan Feltner(RHP) – 1-2, 33.1 ip, 5.13 ERA, 33 Ks/10 walks, 1.47 WHIP
Rockies:
Elehuris Montero – Although he enters the series with a measly .567 OPS, Elehuris Montero has picked things up as of late for the Rockies, hitting 9-for-39 in his last ten games with two homers to boot, so expect Montero to be good complimentary bat alongside Ryan McMahon and former Pirate Elias Diaz.
Pirates:
Martin Perez – Martin Perez will begin the series on the mound for the Pirates in this series and he’s been everything the Pirates would have hoped for in one of their marquee free agent signings, as he is leading the team thus far in ERA at 2.86 and has only allowed more than three runs in one start this year, so his strong start should continue against a struggling Rockies squad.
Rockies:
Charlie Blackmon – Charlie Blackmon is a veteran presence for the Rockies, but the outfielder has come out of the gate in 2024 ice cold, hitting .217 with an OPS on .617 and only one homer thus far, well below his career averages. He has a .192 slugging in his last seven games and with two lefties on the mound for the Pirates, his fortunes may not get much better as he is currently hitting .227 versus lefties.
Pirates:
The entire offense – As mentioned earlier, the Pirates have only scores four runs or more in a game since April 14 three times, and their lackluster play over the west coast trip led to the Pirates lost five of six games while scoring four runs or less in each contest. The Pirates offense has also slid down to 22nd in baseball in batting average, so things have to change offensively if the Pirates want back into the win column.
Key Injuries
Rockies:
10-day IL: OF Nolan Jones, OF/1B Kris Bryant
15-day IL: P Kyle Freeland
60-day IL: P Lucas Gilbreath, P Daniel Bard, P German Marquez, P Antonio Senzatela
Pirates:
10-day IL: C Jason Delay, C Yasmani Grandal
15-day IL: P Marco Gonzales, P Ryan Borucki
60-day IL: C Endy Rodriguez, P Dauri Moreta, P Johan Oviedo
Who To Watch
Watch the Pirates offense closely in this series. The offense is well overdue and ready for some sort of breaking out party out of the funk they have been in recently, and against the statistically worst pitching staff in all of baseball, there is no better shot for the Pirates offense to get back on track than against the Colorado Rockies. With the way the pitching staff has performed, and they should perform well in this series, if the offense shows up for four or five runs, maybe more, then a series win and maybe a sweep could welcome the Pirates back to winning baseball.
Steel City Pirates 