The Colorado Rockies rallied to take the lead and went on to beat the San Diego Padres by a final score of 7-3 on Sunday, earning a series split after dropping the first two of this four-game set.
If Kyle Freeland is an ace
This is the kind of semi-ugly but still effective start that can set a pitcher apart. Freeland fought his command, got dinged a bit early, and had a run cross because of an unfortunate fielding error. He was still able to grind and go six innings, allowing just three runs. Hashtag quality start and all that, but still delivering a good start when things don’t go your way is an important part of being an ace if that’s what we think Freeland is becoming.
Trevor Story leads the way
The Rockies’ star shortstop came up big with a couple doubles, one to set up a rally and one to drive in a run. The distribution from there was up and down the lineup, but Story’s contributions felt key for an offense that has been struggling.
Running their way to runs
Rockies baserunning can be a source of frustration and/or laughter, depending on the day. But the rally to take the lead was set up by successful aggression on the bases. Ian Desmond stole second, and then he and Gerardo Parra pulled off a successful double-steal ahead of Chris Iannetta’s huge double. We’ll take it for today and hope nobody gets any crazy ideas because it worked. Looking at you, Gerardo.
Looking ahead
The Rockies start a series with the San Francisco Giants on Monday. Tyler Anderson will start against Madison Bumgarner.