Dodgers 1, Rockies 0: No run support for Freeland

It was a new-fashioned pitcher’s duel (a pitcher’s duel in which one of the starters exits in the sixth inning) at Dodger Stadium and the Los Angeles Dodgers secured a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies on this Saturday night affair.

Kyle Freeland shines

Good Kyle Freeland came to the yard today and had the Dodgers lineup off balance all night. He had all of his pitches working in harmony and only had one blemish on his record for the evening. An Austin Barnes was the only Dodgers hitter to reach second base against Freeland as he passed by in route to touching them all after hitting a home run in the second inning.

Freeland finished the day allowing one run on five hits with no walks and six strikeouts in his seven innings of work. He just kept getting stronger over the course of the game and was undaunted in the rare event that a runner reached first base. Freeland induced two double plays and wound up facing just four batters over the minimum in his seven innings.

Rockies hitting struggles

Tony Gonsolin got things started for Los Angeles and had the Rockies lineup confounded throughout the evening. Gonsolin had his off-speed stuff working tonight, getting Rockies hitters to go 0-for-9 against his splitter and slider. He would finish with no runs allowed on two hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts in 5¹⁄₃ innings pitched.

The Colorado bats had to be thrilled to see Gonsolin removed so early in the game, but alas, they didn’t fare any better against the bullpen. Alex Vesia, Joe Kelly, and Blake Treinen combined to allow no runs on no hits and one walk with two strikeouts in 2²⁄₃ innings of work before handing it over the Kenley Jansen. Jansen had blown two saves on the homestand but was able to retire the Rockies in the ninth with a Ryan McMahon walk being the only hiccup in the inning.

4-6-3 double plays

In a game where there wasn’t much to cheer for as a fan of the Rockies, aside from Freeland’s stellar performance, it’s always nice to appreciate a twin killing. A well executed double play is a thing of beauty and Garret Hampson and Trevor Story combined to turn two key 4-6-3 double plays in the game and keep the Dodgers from mounting a rally.

Blackmon stays (relatively) hot

Charlie Blackmon has been riding a hot streak of late and continued to hit the ball hard tonight. Although he finished 1-for-4, Blackmon hit his first three balls hard in route to notching a double, a groundout, and a lineout to right field. While it would’ve been nice for one of the outs to result in hits, Blackmon knows he’s still locked in and should continue to hit well in the coming days. Unfortunately, Kenley Jansen’s cutter tied Blackmon up in the ninth as he popped out to third and there would be no heroics on this night.

Up next

It’s a double Gray Day as Jon Gray faces Josiah Gray in Los Angeles tomorrow afternoon. The Rockies will look to pick up a series win behind the more experienced Gray at 2:10pm MDT.