Friday night was about as clear-cut a win as the Colorado Rockies (40-101) have had in a long while. Kyle Freeland delivered the best start by a Rockies pitcher this season as he tossed eight scoreless against the San Diego Padres (76-65). The Rockies got some timely hitting, thanks to Hunter Goodman, and now they will look to take the series and continue to play spoiler in the National League playoff races.
McCade Brown (0-2, 8.22 ERA) will look to find his footing in his third major league start.
His last start, his first at Coors Field, came against the Chicago Cubs. Brown labored through four innings, dealing with more traffic than I-25 on a Friday commute home from work. He pitched into the fifth inning but didn’t record an out, allowing three runs on five hits with three walks against three strikeouts and two hit batters. Brown’s command has been lacking thus far in his first two starts as he has six in just 7 2/3 innings of work. It’s a stark contrast to the ability to pound the zone that he has showcased in the minors, especially this season. The Padres are a dangerous lineup and Brown will need to show some growth and ability to both control and command his pitches and put hitters away quicker.
Randy Vásquez (3-6, 3.96 ERA) will start the game for the Padres. The 26-year-old has been a solid piece of the Padres rotation, making 22 starts and tallying 111 1/3 innings of work. He hasn’t been working deep into games, however, as he has just 10 appearances out of 23 in which he’s completed five or more innings. This month in particular, he has also worked just 7 2/3 innings across two starts, allowing seven runs on 11 hits. He isn’t prone to gathering a lot of strikeouts and usually won’t walk many batters, but the command can lapse at times, with free passes stacking up rather quickly.
Can the Rockies guarantee themselves at least a tie for the worst modern-era record with a win?
First Pitch: 6:10 p.m. MDT
TV: Rockies.tv
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)
Lineups:
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