The Rockies look to start their road trip on the right foot
After a homestand in which the Rockies went 3-6, they’ll try to find success away from Coors, starting with a stop in the steel city for a set with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Chad Kuhl (3-2, 3.86 ERA) gets the ball for the visiting Rox. Kuhl, who was acquired in free agency after departing these same Pirates, was fantastic through his first five starts of the year before getting roughed up by the Giants. He allowed five runs in each of his last two starts (one in San Francisco and one in Colorado). Prior to that, he hadn’t allowed more than three earned runs in any of his first five starts – he’ll try to return to that form against his former club.
Defending his home field is JT Brubaker (0-4, 5.50 ERA), who is searching for his first win this season. Enjoying his third season in MLB, the 28-year-old right-hander is striking out batters (10.8 K/9), but walking them as well (4.8 BB/9). Both of those numbers are career highs. In his lone start against the Rockies in his career (in May of last season), he was credited with the win after throwing six strong innings of four-hit, shutout baseball. His most recent three starts in 2022 have been decent – allowing four runs his last time out against the Cubs, then two runs in each of his previous starts against Cincinnati – but he hasn’t completed six innings of work in any of them.
The Rockies have some experience against Brubaker, though not much. Kris Bryant is 0-for-6, while Ryan McMahon is 2-for-3. Charlie Blackmon is 1-for-3. No other Rockies have a hit. For the Pirates, journeyman Ben Gamel is 2-for-2 with a home run; keep an eye on him. Dan Vogelbach is 1-for-4, having also taken Kuhl deep. Hopefully they don’t repeat their past success on Monday.
One player that won’t appear in the series is Robert Stephenson, who was placed on the COVID-19 injured list earlier today. Ashton Goudeau has been called up to fill his spot and is an option out of the bullpen.
UPDATE: Kris Bryant is out of the lineup due to back soreness. He is available off the bench.
First Pitch: 4:35 PM MDT
TV: AT&T Sports Net Rocky Mountain; MLB.tv
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)
Lineups:
Fun facts about Pittsburgh:
-Known as the “City of Bridges” because it has 446 bridges.
-Our personal fav smile emoticon 🙂 was invented in Pittsburgh by computer scientist Scott Fahlman.
-From 1891 to 1911, Pittsburgh was officially spelled without its “h”.
-The lineup: pic.twitter.com/ZMzAhKj5Ib
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) May 23, 2022
Our Monday night lineup.#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/esongo8a0S
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 23, 2022