'I love beating them': Freeland tops Dodgers

LOS ANGELES -- Consistency has been one of the biggest keys for Kyle Freeland’s turnaround. He has looked like a different pitcher since mid-June and the success didn’t stop against a lineup of heavy hitters.

While Freeland has dominated the strike zone against most of his opponents as of late, the Dodgers have been one of the biggest bumps in his road. The left-hander has been on the losing end of two starts against Los Angeles in 2021, but he flipped the script in the 4-2 win at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.

• Box score

In Freeland’s first five starts this season, he was 0-2 with a 9.58 ERA, nine homers allowed and a .400 opponents’ batting average. But in his last 11 starts, coming into Friday, he was 4-4 with a 2.53 ERA, four homers and a .244 opponents’ average.

Building upon those last two months has served as his motivation to continue his ace-like results. But in the clash with the Dodgers, Freeland had a different drive when he was on the mound.

"Coming into Dodger Stadium, playing against a World Series-caliber team, that's motivation,” said Freeland, as he sported a large purple chain around his neck in postgame celebration. “I love pitching here. I love taking wins from these guys. I love beating them in their own park, so that's plenty of motivation for me.”

Freeland fired six innings against the divisional foe to earn his fifth victory of the season as he struck out seven and didn’t allow a walk among the 22 batters he faced. The southpaw wrapped August with 11 runs allowed in 29 innings across five starts and a 4-0 record.

“I thought he spun us a lot,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “There was a change, but also that slider. He was striking it when he needed to and getting us to chase down below. And he was mixing in his fastball at various times.”

The only blemishes in his final line were the two long balls he surrendered in the third inning on his sinker to tie the game at 2. Freeland cruised through the night with a 32 percent called-strike-and-whiff rate on the 94 pitches he tossed.

“They’ve got great plate discipline,” Rockies manager Bud Black said of the Dodgers. “They have the ability to foul off some pitches, they take borderline pitches. But I thought Kyle did a really good job with the fastball tonight. The slider and the curve I thought were outstanding.”

Colorado jumped to an early lead in the first against opener Brusdar Graterol, courtesy of Charlie Blackmon’s power from the left-handed batter’s box. The veteran slugger has a .359 career average when making contact on the first pitch. Blackmon scorched a first-pitch sinker to right field with an exit velocity of 106.3 mph, per Statcast.

“I think there's a period of situations where you have a good idea that a fastball is coming,” said Blackmon. “It felt like he was going to throw me one there, and he did. He threw that pitch right down the middle, but I was ready for it.”

The Rockies continued to show off their power to pull ahead in the game. C.J. Cron crushed a solo shot in the sixth, while Elias Díaz extended Colorado’s lead with his 15th homer of the season in the ninth. The win provided the Rockies with just their 16th victory on the road.

It was one of the most well-rounded road wins that the Rockies have had all season. The future in the division is uncertain, but as Freeland said, they’re looking to ruin teams’ seasons.

“I'm not trying to do too much out there, there's no reason,” Freeland said. “I'm pitching well right now. The team's playing well behind me. In my mind, there's no reason to try and do more. When you start doing that, that's usually when things kind of go south for you. So I'm going to stay right where I am and be as consistent as possible.”