Kyle Freeland is surely experiencing a terrible case of baseball deja-vu.
The Rockies’ starting left-hander was stellar Saturday in Los Angeles with six strikeouts, three earned runs, and four hits allowed over six innings. Unfortunately, another familiar story unfolded alongside that: Colorado’s lifeless offense and inconsistent bullpen squandered yet another quality Freeland start.
Dodgers’ first baseman Cody Bellinger’s solo home run in the bottom of the ninth walked-off the Rockies, 4-3, for their sixth consecutive loss.
“I think the hits are going to come, and eventually, they’re going to come in bunches,” manager Bud Black said. “That’s not happening right now. I’m tired of saying we need five, six, or seven guys having real quality at-bats and getting our heads (right). That’s what it’s going to take and we’re not there yet.”
Colorado, losers in 11 of its last 13, is now below .500 for the first time (13-14) since dropping its season opener in Texas. The Dodgers (21-8) continue to leave no doubt the NL West still runs through L.A.
The Dodgers wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. It started with a first-inning leadoff walk to outfielder Mookie Betts, and one batter later, shortstop Corey Seager drove Betts home with an RBI single. Colorado threw Seager out in a run-down at second, and Freeland later closed out the side, but the damage was already done as L.A. established an early 1-0 lead.
The Dodgers kept their foot on the gas in the second inning when outfielder Chris Taylor launched a full-count moonshot over the right-field fence to make it 2-0. Freeland had thrown only 29 pitches.
Colorado responded quickly, though, when outfielder Sam Hilliard smashed a 431-foot home run off right-hander Dustin May into the empty right-field bleachers at Dodgers Stadium. The Rockies trailed 2-1 in the third inning.
Then Freeland found his groove. He retired 12 consecutive batters between the third and sixth innings, riding a low-90s fastball and vastly improved off-speed pitches in comparison to a year ago. The 27-year-old southpaw entered the night with a 2.56 ERA and continued to look more like the 2018 pitcher who finished fourth in the NL Cy Young voting.
Freeland struck out Betts — twice.
“I felt good from the get-go,” Freeland said. “The offense that they have, you’ve got to be smart, and they’re going be aggressive on a lot of stuff, which they were. As the game went on, I continued to work my pitch-mix and work well with Tony (Wolters) back there, and get things rolling. … It stinks that we’re grinding and things aren’t falling on our side at the end of the game. We’re looking to turn that around.”
Added Black: “I thought Kyle competed as always and kept us in the game after falling behind 2-0 nothing. He’s been throwing the ball well all year.”
Freeland is now 6-for-6 in quality starts this season. He just needed help Saturday from the Rockies’ offense.
And, once again, Freeland didn’t get quite enough of it.
Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado’s struggles at the plate continued — 0-for-3 with one RBI — but his sacrifice fly in the sixth scored shortstop Trevor Story to tie the game, 2-2, when L.A. turned right-hander Brusdar Graterol out of the bullpen. Story’s infield single and double, a Daniel Murphy single and Hilliard’s third-inning blast accounted for Colorado’s four hits on the night.
Alex Gallardo, The Associated Press
Colorado Rockies’ Nolan Arenado hits an RBI-sacrifice fly to score Trevor Story during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020.The Rockies, with the go-ahead run on third in the seventh inning, pinch-hit Matt Kemp for catcher Tony Wolters. Reliever Blake Treinen threw three-consecutive balls and a wild pitch that scored Ryan McMahon for a 3-2 lead.
It wouldn’t last.
Freeland loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the seventh to end his night with 94 pitches (62 strikes) and Colorado turned to Yency Almonte from the bullpen. He allowed the tying run on a ground-out double-play, but Almonte then struck out Austin Barnes looking to end the threat.
Their stalemate extended into the ninth inning with Rockies pitcher Daniel Bard entering the bottom of the frame. Bellinger was the first batter Bard faced, and on his first pitch, Bellinger drilled a homer over the right-field fence.
The Rockies conclude their three-game series on Sunday afternoon.
“We’re not getting that critical pitch made or that big hit that can give us some momentum,” Black said. “We’ve got to get there soon.”
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