Freeland's 'tempo was perfect' vs. Dodgers

DENVER -- Forgive Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland if he didn’t feel as happy as most among the sellout crowd to experience Mookie Betts’ performance on Saturday night at Coors Field.

Freeland held the rest of the Dodgers to three singles over six innings. But Betts had an unprecedented good night against Freeland with two doubles and a homer, and would add another double before leaving with right hip irritation. Still, Freeland’s performance in the Rockies’ 9-2 loss extended his run of solid pitching to five starts, with a 3.18 ERA in that span.

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Freeland left his last start -- a loss at San Diego on July 9 -- with a blister on his left middle finger. Although he was pitching well, Freeland began experiencing problems with the same finger and didn’t pitch the seventh.

“Mookie, we’ve had a tough time getting him out the first two games of the series, but ‘Free’ looked great,” said Rockies bench coach Mike Redmond, who was acting as manager for the second straight game while Bud Black, plus one coach and four players, were out because of MLB’s COVID and contact tracing protocols. “He was able to execute his pitches. I thought his tempo was perfect.”

The night highlighted why the Rockies, fourth in the National League West and needing to make decisions in advance of the July 30 Trade Deadline, feel good about their pitching. But Betts’ presence served as a reminder of what the Rockies need to take advantage of that pitching: some offensive electricity. It’s a key reason the Dodgers have taken eight straight from the Rockies after dropping the April 1 season opener.

The problem is, when a team has a guy like Betts, he can’t be stopped forever.

"For a guy that caliber, that's baseball -- he was 3-for-3 off me, but leading into the game I'm pretty sure he was 0-for-8 off me,” Freeland said. “That's how baseball goes. You've got some guy's number for a little bit, and then they turn around and you know they got your number.

“He's a high-caliber player for a reason. He's paid a lot of money for a reason. He's one of the best in the game for a reason. So tracking him, you've got to be smart. I made really one mistake, and that was the home run. Other than that, the other two pitches were quality pitches that he put quality swings on."

Freeland didn’t walk anyone and struck out four, and showed moxie in the sixth inning, even though Betts led off with a double and scored on Max Muncy’s one-out single for a 3-2 Dodgers lead. After Muncy’s hit, Albert Pujols’ fly ball confused center fielder Garrett Hampson and right fielder Charlie Blackmon, both of whom pulled back on the first of their two outfield mishaps. With two on and one out, Freeland struck out Chris Taylor and forced a Cody Bellinger grounder.

“I wouldn't say I look forward to those -- you’d like everything to be as clean and crisp as possible, but I know that stuff like that is gonna happen,” Freeland said. “With things out of my control, I just gotta move on. I can't be mad at Charlie or Hampson out there for miscommunication or whatever happened. I’ve got a job to do.”

The blister issue is one Freeland has dealt with his entire career, but otherwise he looks more like the pitcher who finished fourth in 2018 National League Cy Young Award voting than the guy who returned in late May from a left shoulder strain and posted a 9.58 ERA in his first five starts.

With Germán Márquez coming off an All-Star Game appearance, Jon Gray heading into Sunday’s start against the Dodgers having given up more than two runs in just two of his nine home starts this season, and Austin Gomber nearly back from his left forearm strain and hoping to capitalize on a solid early season, Colorado’s starting pitching is in decent shape. The Rockies just have to find other components of a winner.

“The pitch mix was there,” Freeland said. “Me and Dom [Nuñez, the catcher] were on the same page for the most part, seeing where my pitches were working well and going where I wanted. With a lineup like the Dodgers, same with the Padres, you’ve got to be smart, ready to go. Because in the blink of an eye, the game can completely turn on you.”

Or, one guy can.