The Nationals entered the day tied with the New York Yankees with MLB-leading 144 home runs. They hit three against the Rockies on Monday, helping Washington earn a victory and pass New York atop the HR team standings.
Two of their homers came against Kyle Freeland (2-9, 7.28 ERA) and accounted for four runs, which ended up to be enough in the end.
The Rockies were held to six hits on the night. All three of their runs came in the third inning before the offense went cold, despite Denver hitting 100
degrees earlier in the day.
Colorado dropped to 40-62 with the loss, while Washington improved to 51-50.
Nats start off hot
Freeland got in trouble early when he walked the first batter he faced, James Woods, and then gave up a single to Curtis Mead. That set the table for Andrés Chaparro to take advantage of the 90-degree first-pitch temperature and blast a three-run homer 427 feet to left field and put Washington up 3-0.
Freeland recovered and got out of the first without giving up another run.
“Three-run homer three hitters into the game — after that, I thought he pitched angry and he pitched well,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said of Freeland’s performance. “He competed and he kept us right in that ballgame.”
He also got help from an outstanding diving catch by Kyle Karros to leave the third without further damage.
That continued through the fifth inning. In the sixth, Freeland surrendered a solo homer to Jacob Young. The bomb put Washington up 4-3. Freeland held the Nationals at bay in the rest of the inning and through the sixth. He was pulled from the game entering the seventh with a line of four runs on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts.
“You can do one of two things when you get punched in the face early in the game: You can quit or you can dig down deep and keep your team in the game,” Schaeffer said. “He’s had a lot of experience doing that here in Coors because you all know how Coors operates. So he kept us right in the game and gave us a chance to come back and win it. Great job by Kyle Freeland tonight. He gave us six innings too.”
Freeland credited his catcher in helping with his mental fortitude and his de
“A lot goes to Braxton [Fulford] behind the dish, making sure to keep my head in the game. … He did an incredible job of that tonight,” Freeland said. “The defense tonight was absolutely incredible. Down three early, it’s easy not to cash it in, but know that you have a mountain to climb, but the defense was spectacular. Karros at third, Willi [Castro], Jake McCarthy covering a bunch of ground out there, TJ [Rumfield] picking at first. The guys around me definitely kept me going.”
Here’s one example of the ground McCarthy covered.
Castro comes through on 2nd chance
The Rockies had a chance to strike back in the bottom of the first when they loaded the bases after a McCarthy single and walks by Karros and Hunter Goodman. With Cole Carrigg flying out in between, Rumfield couldn’t capitalize when he struck out. That brought Castro to the plate, but he flied out to right field and the Rockies came up empty.
Luckily, Castro got another chance with the bases loaded in the third inning and he took advantage. This time, singles by McCarthy and Carrigg, along with a Rumfield walk, loaded the bases with two outs. Castro came up and smoked the first pitch he saw to center field, where it hit off the Bridich Barrier for a three-run double to tie the game.
That’s all the Rockies could manage off Washington’s lefty starter Andrew Alvarez, who was pulled in the fifth inning. He gave up three runs on six hits with three walks and two strikeouts in 4.1 innings. The Rockies had their chances with runners on in the fourth, fifth and sixth, but Castro’s hit was the lone tally in a 1-for-8 with RISP performance.
Battle of the bullpens
Antonio Senzatela relieved Freeland in the seventh inning and the Nationals jumped on the righty immediately.
Wood singled and Senzatela seemed to be back in control after striking out Curtis Mead and getting pinch-hitter Daylen Lile to ground out in a fielder’s choice, but CJ Abrams had other ideas. He sent a low curveball 420 feet to right-center field for his 22nd homer of the season. The shot gave Washington a 6-3 lead.
Juan Mejia threw a scoreless eighth despite giving up a leadoff single to Young. But Young was erased when he tried to steal second and Brett Sullivan threw him out on a safe call the Rockies had to challenge and successfully overturned. He also notched a strikeout.
In the ninth, Victor Vodnik also gave up a leadoff single, but then quickly got two outs. But Lile tripled for an insurance run that seemed to take the sails out of any would-be comeback for the Rockies.
The Nationals, on the other hand, used four relievers over the final five innings and they held the Rockies hitless and scoreless. For the MLB’s most productive team in the eighth and ninth innings, Colorado had no answers on Monday night.
Up Next
The Rockies and Nationals will face off again on Tuesday night.
The Rockies will send RHP Michael Lorenzen (3-9, 6.22) to the mound, while RHP Miles Mikolas (3-7, 5.53) will get the start for the Nationals. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. MDT.
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