The Pittsburgh Pirates (9-7) are on the road to take on the Colorado Rockies (5-11) in a three-game series at Coors Field. The first game takes place tonight at 8:40 PM
Rich Hill (0-2, 7.20) will be on the mound for the Pirates, making his fourth start of the season. The Rockies are sending out lefty Kyle Freeland (2-0, 0.96) for his fourth start of the season. He has 11 strikeouts in 18.2 innings this year.
Lineups can be found below.
**Today’s Pirates Prospect Daily article looks at Malcom Nunez and his early season struggles. He homered on Sunday, his first of the year.
**No minor league games today. Here’s the Prospect Watch from yesterday.
**Our weekly Monday recap of the week that was in college/HS baseball continues our looks at the top eight players in this draft class.
In case you missed it this weekend, I took a look at whether or not I should add anyone to our draft coverage.
**Our weekly Top Performers article has returned. We take a look at the top ten hitters and pitchers in the system, highlighting a pitcher and hitter each week among that group.
**If any more news pops up today before the end of the game, we will add it here.
UMPIRE SCORECARD
The home plate umpires in the Pirates/Cardinals series had a rough time during the first three games. Sunday’s game was a gem.
Umpire: Ryan Additon
Final in 10: Pirates 4, Cardinals 5#LetsGoBucs // #STLCards#PITvsSTL // #STLvsPITMore stats for this game 👇https://t.co/bmFDRW1561 pic.twitter.com/cVg9MYoHsh
— Umpire Scorecards (@UmpScorecards) April 17, 2023
TODAY’S LINEUPS
Pirates
Game 1 in Colorado.
📺 AT&T SportsNet
📻 93.7 The Fan | The PRN #LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/hKVIh29oxx— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 17, 2023
Rockies
#Rockies lineup tonight vs. #Pirates pic.twitter.com/HNfn92aLoH
— Thomas Harding (@harding_at_mlb) April 17, 2023
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball.
When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.
Found her!
This game was still less than 3 hours?????
A year ago, the first two innings take three hours.
i really do like the new clock 😁
raise it!
Crowe certainly due for a phantom injury after this game
He has options, but the best option might be to just release this guy. Bido could be a much better long man.
this, I like this
also Yerry instead of Underwood
Mathias 4 hit night!!,
Wilbur^^^^^^^^
The focus will be on Mathias, but look at how my boy finished that DP!!!!!
Strong accurate arm!
Hoping for a hernandez sighting tonight!
Hernandez, follow by Ramirez to close it out.
You’d think they’d have wanted to get them both in this game, but Shelton has to cater to his tenured guys.
Maybe Hernandez for the “save” ??
It would be nice if Crowe could finish it, but that ain’t happening.
Happy Crowe Day Y’all!!
Thank you Mr. Mathias!
This is a safe spot for Crowe, right? 😳
Has anyone here ever been at this type of altitude? I’ve been, at my best shape, was asked to run 3 miles which I did daily back them, made it about 1/4 of a mile before feeling I was gonna pass out. You need about a day to acclimate to that air. So I now they got there early yesterday and sleep there, but is not easy!
Lived in Colorado for 4 years. The altitude is tough, but the dryness is what got to me – we have air conditioning to take moisture out of the air and they have swamp coolers to add moisture to the air. Chap stick is a big seller. But, drives up into the mountains, concerts at Red Rocks and just the excitement around Denver was hard to beat.
The key is catching your 2nd wind. Once you do that, it’s the same. But the initial shock to the lungs is real bad.
I’ve been up around 14,000-16,000 feet in the Andes a number of times. I just take one slow step at a time. But then the locals, who are all about 4′ x 4′, go jogging by with loads on their backs.
Lived in Mexico City for a year. 2000 ft higher than Denver. First 3 days were rough, but a breeze after that.
minus this hacking cough ive had here for the past six months
Get better!
I don’t know how this athletes do it in 24 hours or less!
Great point. Was worried in the 1st inning that Hill might be laboring because of the high altitude.
Look at Rich Hill bouncing around on the mound like a bearded child!
You ok @GreenieWeenie?? Figured you may have passed out after you boy was whacked
I could feel it in my toe. Hurt so bad!!!
Castro HBP, Greenie needs to charge the mound.
Greenie would be swinging a bat as he charges!
🤣🤣🤣
I’m enraged!!!!!
Baker’s Dozen! The march continues!
This will help the run diff
Kid for Col has no business playing 3b at this level.
When do we start asking them to save some for next game?
Is heading to a position player pitching, which I hate, but yeah is almost a blow out!
Almost?? 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Is the park still playing like a little league field?
The way they talked on the radio pregame show, might be either PONY league or Legion Ball field now. 🤣🤣🤣
About 5 runs ago….. after it was 7-0. The thought crossed my mind….
Mathias 3 fer 3…….this is Wilbur right now…..
Hill a bit animated.
Castro is seeing the ball for sure.
Just about all the starters are tonight 😁😁
Ke hitting the ball so hard so consistently and yet he can’t get a launch angle is cruel humor, but put another on the board.
Inching his way to 5 WAR one hard hit, well placed ground ball at a time.
Kinda surprised they’re letting their Ace wear one tonight.
And boy did he wear it.
Rockies pen refusing to enter the game?
Can’t wait to vote for Castro to be the starting NL SS in the All-Star game.
Have I professed my profound admiration and LOVE for Rudolfo?
Not today, go on.
Well, if you insist. It’s really in the way that a parent loves their child…
Rodolfo and his braces are here to stay.
I love his braces.
You aren’t paying for them
Just keep hitting the ball to Ke, please and thank you.
67 MPH breaking ball….🤣🤣🤣
Solid half inning.
But would it be enough?
Legit question.
I am pro risks on basepaths as well but dunno what the advanced numbers would say about the risks of taking the extra base are.
Either way, I like being the athletic team, let’s be that. I’d be down.
Everyone eats Ribeyes tonight!
Greg Brown gonna poopy in his pants. 🤣
Rockies look horrible defensively.
Injuries, gold glove 2b is out, for the season, so they move their gold glove finalist 3b to 2b and what seems like a below average defender at 3b.
Bae’s just a good old fashioned game wrecker!
Toolsy player.
Extend Mathias!!!
Give him Reynolds money.
Prepared for incoming…. Ducking and moving already…..
HAHAHA!!!
Mathias with an Ribeye…pleasantly surprised again
Connor Joe. I like him. We share a name.
Anyone having trouble watching the game on mlb.tv?
Nope
I use vpn and I think they are blocking me…. 17 games into the season. Frustrating.
I’m good right now.
Pleasantly surprised
They don’t call him “Thrill” Hill for nothing!
lets go bucs!
Just great. He starts with my favorite, a walk. Bet he scores.
Bet he won’t be the only one.
So glad to be wrong.
Cutch Happens
BOMBS AWAY
This could be a tough one tonight. I may have my old friend Elijah Craig keep me company.
A man of taste i see
Rockies and reds before we repeat last years sweep of the dodgers, will be an interesting test of whether we can handle the teams we “should” beat and how we fair against the best club we will have played to date
The problem with the Reds is that they are a bad team when Greene/Lodolo/Ashcraft are not starting, but they are an above average team when one of those three are starting. Overall it means they will be well under .500, but not necessarily an easy team to beat on a given day. We will see all three of those in the 4 game series, after seeing all 3 in the previous 3 game series.
After he gets DFA’d soon, I hope the Pirates have no intentions of picking up Anthony Bass for multiple reasons. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen someone get destroyed on Twitter so well, though I do avoid politics like the plague, so I’m sure it happens. He is getting torn apart, especially after United said they were handling the situation internally. https://twitter.com/JohnDreker/status/1648074919324860420