DENVER – Kyle Freeland executed a perfect throw to first base, snagging a ground ball, coming off the mound, throwing out a scrambling Yasmani Grandal. That’s how he fished his sixth and final frame of his MLB debut. The Colorado Rockies left-handed starter walked straight to the club’s dugout, head down, no emotion.
Five hours before he exited the game, he stood in front of the dugout’s railing taking in Coors Field, the first big league park he’d pitch in, the same one he watched games in as a kid. His head was up, he was transparent and emotional.
Credit: Jake Shapiro, BSN Denver
“It was great, I wanted to get out there a little early so I could soak it in and see where I am at,” Freeland said of his visible moment. “It was a great moment for me and something I will never forget.
Pitching six innings, the Denver native struck out six in his first outing, allowing just four hits, two walks and one earned run en route to a win. He was somehow more terrific than the moment he was placed into by first-year Rockies manager Bud Black.
The Rockies 2014 first-round pick became the first big league pitcher to make his MLB debut in his hometown, in a home opener, since Kansas City Athletics‘ Chuck Dobson did it in April of 1966. The last time he pitched in Denver was in a state playoff game for Thomas Jefferson High School in front of about 100 people, 49,169 took in Freeland’s first start on Friday.
“I was trying to play cool, that’s for sure, butterflies were definitely jumping around in my stomach,” the 23-year-old said. “I had pregame jitters especially with the circumstances but I tried my best to stay focused on what I needed to do.”
Freeland struck out the first batter he faced, Logan Forsythe, on five pitches. After getting a quick second out, he allowed a hit and then walked two straight. Bases loaded in the first inning of his career, he got out of it unscathed.
“I think after the first inning when I got out of the bases-loaded jam I was able to get into a groove,” Freeland said. “From the second inning on I felt good.”
He rolled from that point forward, not walking a single batter and even stringing together four straight strikeouts in the second and third innings.
Freeland had Justin Turner‘s third inning two-out double negated on a ‘magical’ play by Nolan Arenado. Perhaps the second biggest moment of the game aside from his first pitch, that’s when Freeland let out a roar.
“It was awesome, every once in a while I really felt it from the fans.” he described. “You could just hear it, I could feel the sounds just hitting off my body.”
The fourth is when Freeland let up the lone run and the wheels looked like they could come off, he followed it up with clean fifth and sixth innings to finish his day.
“It couldn’t have gone any better,” the rookie said after. “It was a great day, I’m proud and happy, it couldn’t have been scripted any better.”
Prior to the game, Freeland stood alone as media murmured his name and teammates looked on as they stretched. He was quiet, taking in a moment just to himself before the moment he had waited a lifetime for came to fruition. Leaving the field he was shrouded in a standing obviation, he didn’t take the applause like the hometown kid—overjoyed—he took the applause like the way he pitched: a veteran.
Oh yeah, and he got his first big league knock too, a single in the fifth off of Hyun-Jin Ryu.
First start, first strikeout, first hit, first win, all those firsts and more for Freeland in front of those who saw him play first—his friends and family—just 10 miles from his childhood home. If you’re looking for a better Colorado Sports story in 2017, good luck.
