Rockies vs. Pirates prediction and odds for Tuesday, May 9 (Luis Ortiz's Season Debut)

It took seven tries, but the Pittsburgh Pirates finally got their first win in the month of May. They needed a complete game shutout from Mitch Keller to get the 2-0 win over the Colorado Rockies last night, but the losing streak is over.

Pittsburgh is now 21-15 and still in first place in the NL Central, but only up a half game on Milwaukee. The Rockies fell to 14-22, last in the NL West. 

Tonight, the Pirates have to turn to Luis Ortiz to make his first major league start of the season because Vince Velasquez is missing his first start with forearm tightness.

Ortiz is Pittsburgh’s eighth-ranked prospect. He will be opposed by Connor Seabold who has a 5.30 ERA in eight appearances, only one of them a start. 

Let’s get into the odds for Game 2 of this three-game set at PNC Park. 

Rockies vs. Pirates odds, run line and total

Rockies vs. Pirates prediction and pick

The Pirates were relying on constant quality starts from their rotation to get out to their lead in the NL Central, and a lot of timely hitting, but that well has dried up.

Last night, their only offense was a 2-run homer from Rodolfo Castro, and Mitch Keller had to be borderline flawless. The Pirates still haven’t scored more than two runs in a game since April 29, and there aren’t a lot of signs that it’s turning around anytime soon. 

That just means that Luis Ortiz will need to be great in his season debut and he has been dominant down at Triple-A Indianapolis.

He has a 2.23 ERA across six starts with a WHIP under one and 8.3 K/9. He can touch 100 with his fastball and had three strong starts at the end of last season for the Pirates before giving up six runs and only recording two outs in his most recent taste of big league action on October 1. 

Ortiz will need to be good, and there is proof that he can succeed in the major leagues. There is very little proof that Connor Seabold who has a lifetime 8.30 ERA in the MLB can succeed.

However, Seabold is facing an ice cold lineup. I like the under again in Game 2 after an easy win betting it last night. 

We are starting to see a lot of cracks in the Pirates' starting rotation, their young pitchers, Johan Oviedo and Roansy Contreras are struggling and Rich Hill is looking very old. If the Pirates want to convert a hot start into a postseason appearance then it feels like Ortiz will need to step up and maybe even stick in the rotation after Velasquez returns.

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change