HOUSTON -- Kyle Freeland tumbled from mound dirt to infield grass -- a striking video sequence.

Then he rose and pitched some more. And that was the scene etched on Freeland’s mind.

Freeland had to duck Corey Julks’ line-drive RBI single in the fifth inning of the Rockies’ 4-1 loss at Minute Maid Park on Tuesday afternoon. But with his less-than-ideal stuff and, as has been the case far too often this season, non-existent run support, Freeland lasted 6 1/3 innings -- no small feat for the struggling Rockies starting rotation.

The liner looked inelegant. A season-long drop in velocity -- chronicled here by Statcast -- persisted. The four runs he was charged with left his ERA at 4.93. But had the Rockies found competitive offense, Freeland would have been good enough to give the Rockies a chance.

There wasn’t a win in how Freeland pitched, but he found beauty in it.

“I’ve never been a guy that’s been so focused on velocity -- if I don’t have my velocity, I can’t pitch, because that’s when you become a thrower,” Freeland said. “And I strive to be a pitcher who’s an artist out there, trying to be creative, and create prints with the baseball that deceive the hitter.”

If the second year of Freeland’s five-year, $64.5 million contract could be summed up in one game, Tuesday was it.

His drops in velocity force him to be more precise. He wasn’t with a curve that Grae Kessinger swatted for a third-inning homer. But Freeland toughed out the outing -- and adjusted to plate umpire Derek Thomas’ consistent tightness on lower pitches -- until leaving with one out in the seventh.

A potential double play, when first baseman C.J. Cron couldn’t dig up a throw from third baseman Ryan McMahon (with reliever Gavin Hollowell pitching), led to the fourth run -- which robbed Freeland of a quality start.

But Tuesday marked the fourth time this season that Freeland has pitched into the seventh. The Rockies have supported him with one run in all of those outings -- in a 1-0 victory over Nationals in the April 6 home opener. Tuesday’s run came with Freeland out of the game, on a ninth-inning homer from Kris Bryant -- his first since May 7 (84 at-bats, plus a 27-game absence for a foot injury.)

Manager Bud Black is well-aware of the readings on Freeland’s pitches. Certainly, less-than-quality stuff led to some sideways numbers in a few recent starts. But the good pitchers stay effective when their movement profiles change, even if for the lesser. Freeland struck out three and worked around nine hits and two walks Tuesday.

“He’s pitching,” Black said. “He’s done that for the past couple of years. He’s evolved from his first two or three years in the Major Leagues. That’s what happens over time. It’s rare that pitchers stay who they are when they get to the big leagues.

“Kyle has evolved from a pitcher who threw a lot of fastballs and a lot of sliders his first few years. You’ve seen him morph into a four-pitch mix, changing speeds, moving the ball around the strike zone in every quadrant.” 

The bobbing and weaving would have been more meaningful had the Rockies found anything against Astros righty starter Brandon Bielak, who held them scoreless for seven innings -- after Ryan McMahon’s hard-hit double-play grounder doused a first-inning threat. 

At least Bryant swatted a Ryne Stanek slider for a 104.2 mph exit velocity homer -- one of the Rockies’ three hits in the loss -- the type of a swing the team expected when signing him before last season.

“That was definitely good,” Bryant said. “A guy that throws it up to 99, a slider. I was reacting. That’s what I like to do. That was definitely an encouraging at-bat. There’s some rust with pitch selection and my timing.”

Freeland also believes he has found something timing-wise. After his last start, he revealed that he spent time with knowledgeable veteran pitchers Daniel Bard and Tyler Kinley and incorporated some delivery clean-up actions.

Those changes did not bring back prior velocities. There’s no guarantee they will. But Freeland said his adjustments address keys to crafting winning brush strokes again.

“There was a brief period of time when I didn’t understand why I wasn’t executing,” Freeland said. “It was a very simple, quick fix that we were able to clean up in my next bullpen session, and I moved on.”