Noah Spirek | @NoahSpirek | June 23, 2024
Colorado’s bats silenced as they drop the last game of their 10-game homestand, 2-1.
Table of Contents
Game Story
For the first eight innings on Sunday, the Coors Field crowd of 30,407 witnessed a single run cross the plate and a combined four hits from both sides.
The lone marker on the scoreboard was courtesy of a Michael Toglia solo home run in the 2nd inning. He clobbered a 2-0 cutter from Nationals starter Jake Irvin 462 feet, giving Colorado a 1-0 lead.
The lead would last until the top of the ninth when Rockies closer Jalen Beeks was unable to shut the door on the victory.
Jacob Young led off the 9th with a single that deflected off of Beeks’ glove. The Rockies were able to get the first out of the inning on a forceout at second, but CJ Abrams replaced Young at first. The next batter, Lane Thomas, launched an RBI double into the right field corner, knotting the game, 1-1.
Thomas swiped third base, but Beeks recorded a big strikeout of Ildemaro Vargas to secure the second out. Unfortunately, he could not escape the inning without surrendering the lead, as Joey Meneses lined a two-out RBI single to the outfield, securing the game-winning run for Washington and sealing a 2-1 victory.
Despite the defeat, the story of the game for the Rockies was Kyle Freeland‘s return to the mound. Freeland had last pitched on April 14 in Toronto, before he was placed on the injured list with a left elbow strain. On Sunday, Freeland took a no-hitter into the 6th and ended up tossing six shutout innings, allowing just one hit and one walk, while striking out four.
Quotes
Manager Bud Black on Kyle Freeland’s performance: “He threw the ball outstanding. I can’t ask for more from Kyle in his first start back. Very efficient, I thought his stuff was good. I thought the fastball had life to it, the slider and curveball had good action, and he kept the ball down. He was outstanding.”
Bud Black on Nationals starter Jake Irvin: “Sort of a sneaky moving fastball and a couple of different breaking balls. We couldn’t solve the breaking ball down-and-away from our righties.”
Kyle Freeland on his return: “This was very nice to get back to form of how I believe I should pitch every outing. With ‘Goody’ behind the plate (Hunter Goodman), our first time being battery-mates, he was absolutely incredible back there… It’s definitely a confidence boost coming off my first four outings and two months of not pitching. It’s a very big confidence boost for myself.”
Notes
The Colorado Rockies have allowed 54 runs in the ninth inning this season. This is the most in the Majors. The team in second is the San Francisco Giants with 41 runs allowed.
With the loss, Colorado fell to 3-11 on Sundays and average 1.78 runs per game on Sundays.
What’s Next for the Colorado Rockies?
After Sunday’s game, the Rockies will hop on a plane and fly to Houston as they prepare to take on the Houston Astros. They have an off-day on Monday, but then will play a pair in Texas. On Tuesday, probable starters are LHP Austin Gomber (1-4, 4.36 ERA) for Colorado and RHP Hunter Brown (4-5, 4.72 ERA) for Houston. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 MDT.
Story by Noah Spirek.
ICYMI: Who should the Rockies draft?
Brought to you by…
Leave a Reply