Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Colorado Rockies Round 2: What to Expect

After earning a series win against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Pirates continue the road trip as they continue to hitter-friendly Coors Field. We look at what to expect as the Pirates take on a Rockies team that has been much better at home this season.

Earlier this season, the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates met the Colorado Rockies at PNC Park for a three-game series. The Pirates were in a slump, having lost six games in a row and eight of their last nine games. They needed a turnaround, and a rainout in game one of the series looked to be a bad omen for the Pirate's future. However, the battling Bucs would sweep the Doubleheader the next day and ended up with only their second series win during the entire month of May. The Rockies were a really bad road team, with only three road wins coming into play on May 31st, and the Pirates took advantage picking up some much-needed victories.

However, the Pirates now have to head to Coors Field, where the Rockies have been a completely different animal. While they are just 6-30 on the road this season, they are a much better 25-16 when they play in Coors Field. Traditionally known as one of the most hitter-friendly parks in all of baseball because of the altitude, Coors Field can be a nightmare for pitchers, while it can help a batter that may be in a slump find his swing again. If the Pirates want to make this a winning road trip before they return to PNC Park, their batters have to be ready to swing the bat. We could be in store for three absolute slugfests this series, and the hot-hitting top of the Pirates lineup will do their best to keep up. Today, we look at what to expect as the Pirates head to Coors Field for the first time since the 2019 season.

What Happened Last Time

The last time the Pirates and Rockies battled, it was three tightly contested ball games under weird circumstances. The Pirates came out victorious, winning two of the three games thanks to strong showings by the Pirates pitchers. In the doubleheader, the Pirates won by scores of 7-0 and 4-0 as JT Brubaker and Mitch Keller each had scoreless starts. In the final game of the series, the Pirates had the lead heading into the eighth inning, but the bullpen faltered and the Pirates dropped the finale 4-3. The series win was big for the Pirates as it got them back on track just in time to welcome back their young stars like Ke'Bryan Hayes, Colin Moran, and Phillip Evans from the Injured List.

However, for as bad as the Rockies have been on the road this season, they have been that much better at home. Not only are they nine games over .500 at their home park, but their offense is much more potent. On the road, they have the least amount of runs scored of any team with only 97. However, when they are at home, they lead Major League Baseball with 239 runs scored. They also lead the Major Leagues in home batting average (.238) and home RBI (227), while ranking in the top 10 in HR (51). Even their pitching staff has done better at home with a 4.43 ERA in Coors Field compared to a 5.60 ERA on the road. The Rockies bats have four hitters hitting over .300 at home, and the Pirate's pitches will have to be on their game.

Offense Prepare For A Battle

Any time you head into Coors Field, your offense has to be ready to swing the bat. Coors Field is notorious for being one of the best offensive stadiums in all of baseball and routinely leads to big offensive games. Because of this, the Pirates offense, and especially their top three hitters, have to be ready to swing the bat. Over the last seven days, the Pirates as a unit have been much better. They have the fourth-highest batting average in baseball over the last seven games (.282) and have scored the ninth most runs in baseball (9). With Adam Frazier, Ke'Bryan Hayes, and Bryan Reynolds all hot right now, this team can give their pitchers early leads to work with.

Early offense has been one of the keys to the Pirate's success as of late and helped them to a big series win in St. Louis. Over the last seven games, the Pirates have hit .284 over the last seven games and scored 30 runs, which ranks ninth in all of baseball. With a young Pirates pitching staff, it will be imperative that the Pirates work to get out to a lead early in the game so that their starters can be pitching with the lead. Coors Field can be a place where pitchers lose all confidence in themselves, however, it is much easier to pitch there when your team is ahead rather than being behind from the get-go. The Pirates will be counting on their hot bats at the top of the lineup to get things going quickly.

Familiar Home Advantage

While Coors Field has always traditionally been a hitter's park, the Pirates do have one advantage in their starting rotation. They send Tyler Anderson to the mound in game one, who pitched for parts of four seasons with the Rockies, and is very familiar with the altitude. In his career at Coors Field, Anderson is 11-13 with a 4.22 ERA at Coors Field. He knows how to pitch in a very hitter-friendly ballpark, and can help some of his younger starters on the staff with this new field. Of the starters announced, Anderson is the only one who has any experience pitching inside Coors Field. Game one is an opportunity for the other Pirates starters to watch Anderson work, and ask questions about how he gets it done on the mound.

Following Anderson will be Chase De Jong and a pitcher to be named later in the finale of the series. The one thing that De Jong and whoever makes that second start can't let happen is that they get burned by the long ball. In Coors Field, you are going to give up your share of home runs, but the main thing is making sure those are harmless solo shots rather than demoralizing three-run home runs. The Rockies have several players who can hit the ball out of the park, including Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon. If the Pirates are going to have a successful three-game series, it will be on the backs of strong pitching performances that will limit damage throughout the game.

The Pittsburgh Pirates (29-47) kick-off this three-game series against the Colorado Rockies (31-47) tonight at 5:10 pm. Tyler Anderson (3-7, 4.82) takes the mound for the Pirates pitching against his old team in his old stadium as he faces Kyle Freeland (0-2, 7.76) for the Rockies. You can watch the game live on AT&T Sportsnet, listen on 93.7 The Fan, or follow along with us on Twitter by following @Buccos_Cove.