It was clear very early Monday night that Colorado Rockies starter Kyle Freeland didn’t have his best stuff. Despite getting the same number of hits, the Rockies fell 8-1 to the Cincinnati Reds largely because of the Reds making their 10 hits against Freeland count, and the Rockies unable to do the same with Reds starter Homer Bailey.
Billy Hamilton greeted Freeland with an opposite-field single in the very first at-bat of the game, which usually means — with his otherworldly speed — that he is going to score. Freeland had a chance to get out of it and strand Hamilton at second by inducing a couple of weak ground balls from a pair of All-Stars in Zack Cozart and Joey Votto, shattering the latter’s bat. But a two-out double from Adam Duvall scored the run to make it 1-0, Reds.
The Rockies came right back in the bottom of the first on a one-out single from Raimel Tapia who moved to third on a single from Nolan Arenado and scored on the third straight single for Colorado off the bat of Carlos Gonzalez. All-Star hopeful Mark Reynolds would hit into a double play to end the inning and the threat.
Freeland allowed a leadoff double to Scott Schebler in the second and again it looked like he would work out of it, getting a fly out from Jose Peraza and getting an out on a sac bunt by Bailey after walking Tucker Barnhart in a long battle. With runners on second and third and two outs, Hamilton was able to lift one over the infield to score both runs. Freeland got a comebacker to the mound on his next pitch to Cozart and fired it to first exhibiting clear frustration over giving up the two-RBI, two-out hit.
In the third, it was a two-out double from Eugenio Suarez, who had been down 0-2 in the count, and an infield single from Schebler that featured an odd throw and decision from Trevor Story who both rushed so much he didn’t get much behind the attempt, and also hurried into a tougher play when he might have had an easier out at second. And again, a two-out single from the Reds (by Jose Peraza) brought in a run. Freeland was able to escape any further damage with two more men on, but for the third straight inning was bitten by the two-out run.
The fourth was the first 1-2-3 inning for Freeland.
The Rockies got the first two aboard in the bottom of that frame with singles from Arenado and Gonzalez. The second hit of the game for him, that single away from the shift down the third base line gave Gonzalez his first multi-hit game since late May. Reynolds then hit a deep fly to center that curiously neither runner moved up on. They did manage to advance on a ball in the dirt but Trevor Story struck out and Alexi Amarista grounded out weakly to short to end the threat.
As the wave broke out at Coors Field (again) in the sixth (draw your own conclusions) Freeland gave up a long home run to Peraza to make it 5-1.
The Reds padded their lead with another solo home run, this time from Schebler who is having quite the breakout campaign, blasting his 21st of the season off of Adam Ottavino in the eighth. They got two more on a mega shot off the bat of Scooter Gennett in a pinch-hit situation to make it 8-1, Reds.
Colorado dropped to 49-37 and fell to seven games back in the NL West but remain six-and-a-half games up in the Wild Card.
