Colorado Rockies game no. 89 thread: Kyle Freeland vs Reiss Knehr

After dropping two of three to the last-place Arizona Diamondbacks, the Colorado Rockies finish their road trip in San Diego, trying to wrap up the first half of the season on a positive note.

Kyle Freeland (1-2, 5.50 ERA) will start the series for Colorado. He was very effective in his last start, tossing six strong innings of scoreless ball against the St. Louis Cardinals this past Saturday. After allowing two walks in the first inning, the Colorado native settled in and was rarely in trouble from then on. Freeland will try to replicate that success against the Padres, who he has struggled against in the past.

With ace Padres ace Blake Snell set for a stint on the injured list, Reiss Knehr will make his MLB debut on Friday. A 20th-round pick in 2018, Knehr has thrown 55 ¹⁄₃ innings for Double-A San Antonio this season, pitching to a 3.90 ERA. Scouts say he is equipped with a fastball/slider/changeup arsenal and is a ground ball pitcher, which makes him a prime candidate for success in pitcher-friendly Petco Park. Knehr is not likely to go very deep in the game, so expect the Padres to utilize a few bullpen arms in game one of the series.

The main storyline of this series will be, as always, the Rockies’ offense on the road. Following the conclusion of their Arizona trip, Colorado batters are now slugging .396 as a unit, and are sitting on a 7-33 record away from altitude. The Rockies’ bats will try to take advantage of a young pitcher and hope to strike early to assuage those concerns.

Freeland, meanwhile, will try to hold the Padres at bay - something he has had issues with in the past. Manny Machado and Wil Myers are both hitting .333 in over 20 at-bats apiece versus the lefty, while Tommy Pham is 4-for-10 and Fernando Tatis, Jr. is 5-for-12.

Start Time: 8:10 p.m. MDT

TV: AT&T SportsNet, MLB.TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Lineups: