The last time Kyle Freeland took the mound at home for the Rockies, he nearly threw the second no-hitter in Colorado Rockies’ history. So, that’s the bar for today! Freeland will face a tough Pirates lineup that includes Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen hitting in spots one and three. Freeland has posted a 3.67 ERA in his rookie season, which includes 19 games and 18 starts, with an adjusted ERA+ of 138.
According to Baseball Reference’s Wins Above Replacement model, Tyler Anderson posted the best rookie season for a starting pitcher in 2016, with 3.3 WAR. Freeland has a chance to beat that this year, as he has 3.3 thus far (though there’s always a chance it can go down).
The Rockies face right-hander Iván Nova, who is in the midst of an excellent year from the mound. He’s posted a 3.27 ERA and a 132 ERA+ in his first 19 starts. Gerardo Parra is out of the starting lineup for the second consecutive game. The outfield alignment is Ian Desmond, Charlie Blackmon, and Carlos González from left to right. Mark Reynolds gets the start at first base. He’s hitting cleanup.
Game time is 1:10 MT.
Kyle Freeland and a Sunday day game, good things ahead? pic.twitter.com/Jot8zg6iLR
— Jake Shapiro (@Shapalicious) July 23, 2017
Here's our lineup for today.
— Pirates (@Pirates) July 23, 2017
@ATTSportsNetPIT
@937theFan & the PRN#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/QcwXw71QVg