Colorado Rockies vs Pittsburgh Pirates Pick – 8/22/2025
The Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates have two of the three worst records in the National League this season. But someone will have to win when they face each other in a series opening game on Friday night at PNC Park. Both teams held their own against quality competition in their last series and will look to get a win over each other tonight. Continue reading to get my Rockies vs Pirates prediction for Friday.
Our Rockies vs Pirates Pick
- Pick: Over 8.5
- Confidence: 4/5
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Game Snapshot
- Matchup: Colorado Rockies vs Pittsburgh Pirates
- Date & Time: Friday, August 22, 2025, 6:40 p.m. ET
- Starting Pitchers: Antonio Senzatela (4–14, 7.00 ERA) vs Braxton Ashcraft (3–1, 3.02 ERA)
- Stadium: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA
- Broadcast: SportsNet PT and COLR
Key Storylines
Pitching matchup
- Antonio Senzatela has been a liability for Colorado this season. He enters this start with a 7.00 ERA and has had poor outings against Pittsburgh. He’s 0–2 with a 17.76 ERA in previous starts against them.
- Graham Ashcraft has maintained consistency with a 3.02 ERA and a winning record over a small sample size. His rise has provided Pittsburgh with a much-needed piece of stability in their rotation.
Key Players
The members of each bullpen will be the key players in this game. Finding a way to get outs will be key given how much scoring these teams did against each other in their series from Colorado earlier in the year.
Recent Form
- The Rockies are 3-2 in their last five games and just earned a shocking split against the LA Dodgers.
- The Pirates won two out of three games against the Toronto Blue Jays in their last series.
Best Player Props
| Category | Player | Prop |
|---|---|---|
| Home runs | Hunter Goodman | Over 0.5 |
| Strikeouts | Graham Ashcraft | Over 4.5 |
| Total bases | Bryan Reynolds | Over 1.5 |
Betting Trends & H2H
- The Rockies took two out of three games from the Pirates in Colorado earlier this season.
- All three of those games saw 13 or more combined runs scored.
- Colorado is 16-46 on the road for the season.
- Pittsburgh is 36-30 at home in 2025.
Rockies vs Pirates Model Projection
Score Projection: Pittsburgh 6 – Colorado 4
Win Probability: Pittsburgh 61%, Colorado 39%
Final Thoughts
I think we will be in for another relatively high-scoring game between the Pirates and Rockies on Friday. These pitching staffs are hard to trust and I expect Senzatela to have an especially hard time given his bloated ERA. We should see this game hit double-digits on the scoreboard for the fourth straight time in a game between these teams. I’ll take the over in what should be an entertaining game between these two last-place opponents.
