MLB Predictions: Rockies vs Pirates Lines
The Pittsburgh Pirates host the Colorado Rockies on Saturday evening in the second game of a three-game set at PNC Park. The Pirates won the opener in the series on Friday by a score of 4-2, and will look to clinch a series victory with a win on Saturday.
Colorado Rockies (40-56) at Pittsburgh Pirates (50-46)
Date: Saturday, July 19, 2014
Time: 7:05 p.m. ET
Venue: PNC Park
City: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
O/U Odds: 8
Money Line: Pittsburgh -140, Colorado +130
Pitching Matchup: LH Brett Anderson (0-3, 4.95 ERA) at RH Charlie Morton (5-9, 3.32 ERA)
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Charlie Morton gets the nod for the Pirates in this one. His base numbers don’t tell the whole story with respect to the kind of season he’s had. The Pirates haven’t done a great job of providing him with run support, and that led to him starting the year 0-6 despite an ERA below 3.50.
Morton has been touched up in the occasional rough outing, but for the most part, he’s offered the Pirates strong outings, allowing two earned runs or fewer in eight of his last 10 starts.
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One of those rough outings came in his last start before the break, in which he allowed five earned runs over six innings of work, including two home runs, against the Cincinnati Reds. Fortunately for Morton, this was an outing in which he was provided some run support, and he was taken off the hook for the loss in a 6-5 Pirates win.
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Morton hasn’t toed the rubber against the Rockies since 2012, but that start was a good one for him. In it, he earned the victory, allowing only one run on six hits over seven innings of work, striking out two and walking one.
Brett Anderson counters for the Rockies. The injury-prone lefty missed three months of the season before returning to make a start before the All-Star break. In it, he allowed six runs, five of them earned, on 10 hits over five innings of work in a 13-5 home loss to the Minnesota Twins.
Morton has really been able to take care of business this season, flying under the radar only because of a subpar record, which directly relates to the run support he’s received, and not the way he’s pitched. Expect him to continue his strong season with a good performance against a Rockies lineup that struggles to score runs away from home.
Additionally, the Pirates have struggled mightily against left-handed pitching this season, and while Anderson hasn’t been at his best, he should do enough to fool the Pirates’ hitters on Saturday. They haven’t done a great job of providing Morton with run support even in the best of situations.
The Pirates are 4-1 in Morton’s last five home starts, and they are 7-1 in their last eight home games.
The under is 19-8-2 in Morton’s last 29 home starts, and it is 7-3-2 in the Pirates’ last 12 home games against a left-handed starter.
The play: Pittsburgh -140, Under 8
