Cuevas is clutch, Freeland is nails, Rockies win fifth straight

Noel Cuevas earned his spot on an MLB roster through hard work, perseverance, and his ability to hit left-handed pitching. Making his debut just a few short months ago, he has proven to be a valuable piece off the bench and in favorable matchups for the occasional start.

He got the start on Saturday afternoon against the Seattle Mariners, coming into the game with one major league home run and five RBI. But his three-run home run off of one of the best pitchers in the game was the difference in an eventual 5-1 win for his club. It was unquestionably the biggest moment so far in his young career.

The Rockies have now won five in a row and eight of their last nine baseball games.

For the third straight time, Kyle Freeland was matched up against an ace lefty, this time James Paxton, and while the box score will suggest he wasn’t quite as good as his last few outings, he battled a very tough lineup in a game where he knew runs would be at a premium, and never lost his focus over his five-inning grind.

It looked like the Rockies missed their best chance in the game in the third, getting a rare bases-loaded, nobody out scenario against Paxton. Pat Valaika started it with a single to right, Gerardo Parra followed with one to left and Cuevas made it three straight when his attempt at a sac bunt ended up being in the perfect spot for a base hit.

With DJ LeMahieu, Charlie Blackmon, and Nolan Arenado coming up, the odds were in Colorado’s favor that at least one run would be scored. But Paxton hasn’t gotten to where he is this season by giving in during these types of situations. He got LeMahieu to fly out to not-deep-enough center and struck out Blackmon and Arenado back-to-back to stamp out the rally.

In fact, the Rockies top three hitters went 0-for-14 with seven strikeouts in the game. Not even a walk among them. It was the bottom of the order that did the heavy lifting in this one.

Ian Desmond finally fired the first salvo in the fourth after singling to lead off the inning and swiping second after Chris Iannetta struck out. It was his ninth stolen base of the season and was a huge one a few moments later when Carlos Gonzalez singled up the middle, scoring the all-important first run of the game against Paxton.

In the bottom half of the fourth, Freeland found himself in a jam after a leadoff walk to Kyle Seager and a one-out single to Guillermo Heredia put runners at first and third. But Freeland focused and unleashed some of his best pitches of the day to strike out John Andreoli and get David Freitas to pop out to second base, keeping the 1-0 lead intact.

He wasn’t so fortunate in the fifth when Jean Segura took advantage of one of the few mistakes Freeland made in the game, smashing a center-cut fastball well over the wall in left to tie the game at one.

Freeland followed that by walking Mitch Haniger but bounced back to get Nelson Cruz on a flyout. Seager made things tense for a moment with a single to right but Freeland stranded the go-ahead run at second, getting Ryon Healy to pop up to shallow right in his final battle of the day.

With the southpaw at 98 pitches after five innings, Scott Oberg was called upon to pitch the sixth and did so splendidly, striking out a pair without allowing a baserunner.

The Rockies big breakthrough came in the seventh when a Valaika walk and Parra single set the stage for Cuevas’ big moment. And suddenly, in a game that had been so tight all afternoon, Colorado took a 4-1 lead.

Adam Ottavino worked the seventh and surrendered a single but also struck out the side. He stayed on for the eighth and began things with another strikeout then gave up a single to Seager but erased him on an inning-ending double play.

The Rockies added an insurance run on a CarGo double, Valaika single, and Parra sac fly in the ninth.

That meant Wade Davis entered without the save situation.

Colorado improved to 46-43 and moved ahead of the Giants for third place in the NL West, just three games back of the first-place Diamondbacks.

Final Stats:

Kyle Freeland: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K

Scott Oberg: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Adam Ottavino: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Noel Cuevas: 3-for-4, 1 R, 3 RBI, HR (2)

Carlos Gonzalez: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI

Pat Valaika: 2-for-3, 1 R

Gerardo Parra: 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI

Ian Desmond: 1-for-4, 1 R, SB (9)

What’s Next:

The Rockies aim to make it six straight and record their second consecutive series sweep on Sunday afternoon. Antonio Senzatela faces off against the reinvigorated Wade LeBlanc. First pitch at 2:10 Mountain Time.