Rockies rally but not enough to overcome Freeland's bad night

In a way, it is to their credit that the Colorado Rockies managed to make the series opener with the Atlanta Braves a close game, but they could not finish off an inspiring rally and instead fell 3-8, more games under .500 (5) than they ever were in 2018.

Kyle Freeland got off on the wrong foot and never found the right one.

He got squeezed a bit in a first-inning walk to Josh Donaldson then threw a decent slider low in the zone to Ronal Acuna but saw it blasted over the wall in right for a two-run home run anyway, giving the Braves the early advantage.

He got through the second without much incident but a second straight one-out walk to Donaldson set up another rally for Atlanta. Freddie Freeman followed with a single on a line drive to center, Acuna was hit by a pitch and Nick Markakis singled to almost the same spot as Freeman, scoring another pair of runs.

Things went from bad to worse for Freeland in the top of the fifth when Dansby Swanson tripled to deep center after back-to-back singles from Acuna and Markakis. Swanson scored on a wild pitch from Freeland and the Braves took a commanding 7-0 lead against a team that did not have a hit.

Any Rockies’ fan would have been forgiven for turning off the TV or radio at that point, but they would have missed some compelling baseball that, while it did not result in a victory, may represent a light at the end of the tunnell for the struggling ballteam.

It got started with the new kid, Josh Fuentes, who got the Rockies into the hit column with a solid single to center. Pat Valaika backed that up with a double down the line in left, putting runners at second and third with nobody out.

Fuentes came in on a sac fly off the bat of Garrett Hampson which was followed by a sudden burst of power in the form of a two-run shot to left from Mark Reynolds, who pinch hit for Freeland.

Colorado kept the pressure on with a walk from Charlie Blackmon and, after a strikeout by Raimel Tapia, a single for Nolan Arenado. Then Trevor Story provided the biggest swing of the bat the Rockies have had in days, cracking a 428-foot home run over the wall in center field to somehow pull his club back to within a run at 7-6.

DJ Johnson came on in the sixth and gave up a single to Donaldson but induced a double play from Freeman in a much-needed quick inning.

But the Rockies repaid the favor and Johnson quickly found himself back out on the mound walking leadoff hitter Acuna. Markakis once again singled on a sinking line drive, this one to left, and was able to advance to second when Tapia’s throw went to third, a mental mistake.

Johnson gave way to Scott Oberg who nearly struck out Swanson who managed to check his 2-2 swing and then surrendered the sac fly on a ball to medium center field. He got Ender Inciarte on a weak groundball back to himself an Alex Jackson on a pop out to first base, minimizing the damage.

The Rockies had a chance in the seventh and it looked for a moment like they were going to tie it. Ian Desmond came off the bench and got off the schneid with a single up the middle but was erased on a groundball double play from Blackmon.

Tapia kept the inning alive with another single up the middle and Arenado drove one to the warning track in right but Markakis was able to track it down just a few feet shy of the wall and make the catch.

Oberg stayed on to dominate the eighth. But the Rockies went quietly in the bottom of the inning.

Wade Davis struck out the side around a walk of Markakis, giving the home club one last chance to complete the comeback.

Valaika put a good swing on a fastball but just missed it, making the first out on a flyball to left. Tony Wolters pinch hit and fell victim to an amazing diving catch by Swanson in foul territory.

Desmond gave the team life by pulling a double inside the third base line and Blackmon put a momentary charge of hope into the home crowd with a deep drive toward the gap in right-center field but in a painful repeat of Arenado’s attempt in the seventh, it was tracked down for the final out of the game.