Following last night’s loss to the Athletics, the Colorado Rockies enter a matchup built around uncertainty, as Kyle Freeland tries to find his footing against Joey Estes, who will make his 2026 debut after being recalled by the A’s from the minors. Jeffrey Springs was projected to start, but will now be pushed to Sunday with Estes taking the mound.
Last Sunday, Freeland made Rockies history, passing Aaron Cook to take the franchise lead in innings pitched. While a look at the final score doesn’t
show it as the bullpen let the game get out of hand, Freeland had his best start in recent memory. He went five innings and although he gave up seven hits, he worked out of some jams and limited the damage to three runs. By comparison, he had given up up six or more runs in five of the six starts before that one, so the three runs surrendered marked a big improvement relatively.
On the year, Freeland is 1-6 in 11 starts. His lone win came way back on April 7th and his ERA has ballooned since May, reaching 7.81 now. He’s got 45 strikeouts and 16 walks across his 11 games. That said, he felt more reliable on the mound in his last outing and he’ll look to build on that against the A’s.
The Athletics will counter with Estes. He had a limited 2025, going 0-2 in two starts and three appearances, with a 9.82 ERA across 11 innings pitched. In his career, Estes is 7-12 with a 5.51 ERA across 30 games. He’ll make a spot start as the club shuffles it’s rotation a bit for the Vegas series.
While last night’s matchup in Vegas didn’t have quite as many fireworks as the insane 29-run game in Vegas early in the week, there were still some sparks. After four scoreless innings to start things off, Shea Langeliers, Nick Kurtz, and Cole Carrigg all blasted homers. In a ballpark that has seen a lot of those and with two pitchers who are looking to find their groove this season, the steadier hand may prevail in game two of the series.
First Pitch: 8:10 pm MDT
TV: Rockies.TV
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)
Athletics SB Nation Site: Athletics Nation
Lineups:
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