Colorado Rockies game no. 92 thread: Mitch Keller vs José Ureña

The Pirates empire strikes back against the rebellious Rockies on Star Wars Day

After taking a drubbing last night, the Pittsburgh Pirates take the field to once again do battle with your Colorado Rockies. It’s Star Wars Day at Coors Field – let’s see if the home team can give fans new hope as they head into the All-Star break.

Mitch Keller (3-6, 4.88 ERA) starts for Pittsburgh. His last outing was probably his best of the season thus far, as he tossed seven innings of one-run baseball against the Marlins. The Rockies got a look at Keller earlier this season in a relief role when he worked 3 ¹⁄₃ innings and allowed one run in and eventual Pirates victory. Per Baseball Savant, Keller utilizes a fastball-slider-sinker combination with occasional curveballs and the rare changeup thrown in. Colorado’s hitters will want to be patient in their at-bats against him – the splits for when he’s ahead in the count versus behind are striking.

When José Ureña (0-1, 2.66 ERA) was called up to make a start against the Dodgers in LA on July 6th, Rockies fans were wary of a pitcher that the Brewers had placed on waivers a month prior. All he’s done since then is throw back-to-back quality starts and allow three runs in his 12 ²⁄₃ innings to the tune of a 2.13 ERA. He’ll want to limit contact some – he’s allowed 12 hits in that span – but has largely been a nice surprise for a Colorado rotation that has seen some of their key starters take steps backward this season. Ureña has struggled a bit against the Bucs in his career, as he owns a 6.21 ERA in 11 appearances (four starts) against Pittsburgh’s finest in his career.

After leaving yesterday’s contest early following a collision at first base, manager Bud Black said pregame that shortstop José Iglesias is good to go, and hes’ back in the lineup hitting seventh. Owning a .429 lifetime average against Keller, look for him to make an impact today. Randal Grichuk gets the day off, so Sam Hilliard will be starting in center field and hit eighth. Hilliard has looked very good since his most recent promotion, as he’s got four hits in his last eight at-bats with a double, an RBI, and five runs scored.

First Pitch: 6:40 PM MDT

TV: ATT SportsNet-RM, MLB.tv

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Lineups: