The Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies will wrap up their three-game series on Wednesday in Denver going in distinctly different directions.
The Rockies are losers of seven straight games. Meanwhile, the Pirates have won three of four and are riding a streak of eight straight quality starts.
Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton has seen his starters go at least six innings in every game since April 11, when Mitch Keller started the streak of quality starts by striking out seven in six innings during a 7-4 win over the defending World Series champion Houston Astros.
“They’re throwing strikes, I think that’s the thing,” Shelton told AT&T Sports Net Pittsburgh. “They’re going after people, they’re attacking and they’re staying in the strike zone.”
That’s a big reason the Pirates are one of eight teams with 11 or more wins. Aggressive baserunning is also a key, according to the manager.
“We preach doing the little things, making sure that we continue to add on and score extra runs,” Shelton said. “Anything from beating out double-play balls … we make sure to remind our baserunners not to give up on fly balls that are hit, because they can give people problems.”
Meanwhile, the Rockies are looking for anything to turn the tide. At 5-13, Colorado has the worst record in franchise history after 18 games.
Rockies manager Bud Black said, “Guys are pulling hard for each other and working hard. It will turn around. We just have to play a little better. We have to make better pitches, get the big hit, make the big play. That’s what it takes.”
Johan Oviedo (1-1, 2.45 ERA) will look to extend the streak of Pittsburgh quality starts as he makes his fourth start of the season on Wednesday. The Cuban right-hander allowed just one run and struck out 10 over seven innings in his latest start, but he was a hard-luck loser to the St. Louis Cardinals, falling 3-0 on Friday.
In his only career appearance against the Rockies, Oviedo allowed three runs in six innings during a no-decision on July 2, 2021, in Denver.
Left-hander Austin Gomber (0-3, 8.16) gets the start for Colorado. He is coming off an outing to forget, when he lasted just 3 2/3 innings and allowed five runs in a Friday loss to the Seattle Mariners.
Gomber gave up three runs (two earned) in five innings during a start against Pittsburgh on July 17, 2022, and he has an 0-2 record with a 5.06 ERA in seven career appearances (three starts) vs. the Pirates.
The Rockies can at least hope slugging outfielder Kris Bryant, who signed a seven-year deal worth $182 million with Colorado in March 2022, stays hot.
It took a year and nine days — including two lengthy battles with injuries — from his first appearance in a Colorado uniform for Bryant to hit his first home run in the thin air of Denver on Monday.
All six of Bryant’s previous home runs for Colorado came on the road until Monday, when he homered off Pittsburgh’s Rich Hill.
Bryant homered again on Tuesday in the Rockies’ 5-3 loss to the Pirates, going deep off Vince Velasquez in the first inning.
–Field Level Media
