Colorado Rockies game no. 17 thread: Kyle Freeland vs Rich Hill

Times are tough for the Colorado Rockies, who just got swept by the Seattle Mariners and limp home on a five-game losing streak. The team comes into their matchup against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 5-11 record and National League-worst -27 run differential this season. With just one winning season in the last nine years, the Pirates are no strangers to the doldrums of the NL, but have been surprisingly competitive this season at 9-7, sitting third in the NL Central.

Taking the mound for the Rockies will be Kyle Freeland, Colorado’s best player in the first weeks of the new campaign. After holding the opposition scoreless in his first two outings, Freeland was finally brought back to Earth with two solo home runs surrendered to the St. Louis Cardinals in his last start. Still, Freeland enters his fourth start with a minuscule 0.96 ERA and 1.4 bWAR — best among NL starters.

Opposing him will be another lefty, Rich Hill. 2023 marks Hill’s 19th big-league season with his 12th-different organization, amassing 1,274 IP and a 3.89 ERA in his career along with one of the funniest nicknames in league history. Lifetime, he has a 1-4 record and 5.68 ERA against the Rockies in 7 starts — 5 of which coming at Coors Field where he holds a 7.18 ERA in 26 ¹⁄₃ IP.

First Pitch: 6:40 p.m. MDT

TV: AT&T Sports Net Rocky Mountain; MLB.tv

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

Lineups:

★ ★ ★

It was bad. Here’s the recap.