Rockies offense responds with huge, late rally to salvage Freeland’s solid start

The Colorado Rockies took the series 3-1 from the San Francisco Giants on Thursday afternoon, but it wasn’t easy.

It looked for a moment like Mauricio Dubon had ruined a fantastic afternoon from Kyle Freeland and stolen a victory for the Giants when a three-run jack in the seventh suddenly put Colorado behind, 3-1.

The Rockies responded with ferocity, plating five runs in the bottom of the seventh to secure an eventual 6-4 win.

The 5-2 homestand against the Padres and Giants improved Colorado to 9-3 on the season.

Player of the Game: Kyle Freeland: 6.2 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

Free gave up contact throughout the contest and it would be hard to argue that he dominated all afternoon. However, it would also be a stretch to say that the visitors felt any kind of positive offensive momentum before finally breaking through late.

He was efficient and hitting his spots. He induced three double plays and recorded 14 outs on ground balls with only one hard hit ball in the air and one extra-base hit before Dubon’s home run with two outs in the seventh.

It was another quality start, but it would have looked sterling in the box score if not for that one mistake.

For the third game in a row, Freeland has shown that he has put his issues from a year ago behind him and is set to give his club a competitive performance more often than not.

Moment of the Game: The Response

Tyler Anderson gave up 6 runs in 4 IP and 2 HR the last time he pitched at Coors Field for the Rockies. But removed from injuries and perhaps with some revenge on the mind, he went 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K in his second start with the Giants.

As soon as he came out of the game, Colorado pounced.

In the bottom of the sixth, Trevor Story turned on a pitch low and inside and smashed it for a no-doubt laser blast homer into the left-center field bleachers. The ball traveled 447 feet at 104 MPH and a 28 degree launch angle for a near picture-perfect home run.

It was Story’s fifth round-tripper of the season, tying him for third best in MLB and second best in the National League. He also scored his 12th run of the season on the play, moving him into a tie for first place in MLB.

For a moment, it looked like that might hold up as the only run scored in the game before the seventh unfolded like a disaster for the Rockies.

But Garrett Hampson got the momentum back for Colorado immediately by hitting a screaming line drive off the wall in left that needed just another foot or two of height to have gotten out. He settled for the double and moved to third on a wild pitch. Chris Owings drove him in with a groundball double down the first base line and he was able to trot home on Daniel Murphy’s second home run of the season.

David Dahl singled to keep the party going and Charlie Blackmon added another big blast by hammering one into the second deck in right field for his second home run of the season. That improved his early-season batting average to .396. He is in second place in MLB with 19 hits.

What’s Next

The Rockies are off to Seattle for a three-game set against the Mariners who are 5-8 on the year. Antonio Senzatela takes the hill in the first game, looking to build on a strong pair of starts his first two times out. He will put his 2.45 ERA up against lefty Yusei Kikuchi who got knocked around in his first outing but is coming off a six-inning shutout against the A’s featuring nine strikeouts.

First pitch scheduled for 7:40 Mountain Time.