NEW YORK — Kyle Freeland said it simply and succinctly: “I got punched in the mouth.”
The Rockies’ left-hander was describing his first inning Sunday afternoon when the Mets rapped three singles off him in his first seven pitches and took a 2-0 lead. Freeland may have flinched, just a bit, but he was never knocked down and he never backed down.
Then Freeland proceeded to pitch six scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing only one walk and one hit the rest of the way as Colorado beat the Mets 3-2, completing a three-game sweep at Citi Field.
“Every start you can learn something about yourself and something about your game,” Freeland said. “Today was one of those games. But it’s all about how you respond. Today I went to my strengths, keeping them off-balance and executing our game plan.”
Rockies starters have combined for a 1.71 ERA over their last 11 starts, a prime reason why the club has won a season-high five consecutive games and owns a 20-15 record.
“It’s been outstanding,” said manager Bud Black, who has watched with a father’s sense of pride as his relatively young starting rotation continues to grow up. “You look at this stretch of games, and every starter has pitched to a level of quality. The type of games we’ve been in — some low-scoring games where we had to make some pitches to keep it right there — we have won.”
Veteran first baseman Ian Desmond, who launched two solo home runs, including the go-ahead blast in the eighth inning, gushed over the performances of Freeland, as well as that of the other starters — , , German Marquez and .
“I think those young guys pitched really well last year and I was hoping it would transfer over to this year,” Desmond said. “So far, it has. We have some really impressive young arms and there’s more coming.”
Freeland was especially good in the third inning when he struck out Brandon Nimmo swinging on an 86 mph slider, struck out the dangerous Asdrubal Cabrera looking on an 84 mph slider and got Todd Frazier to fly out to left fielder .
Freeland and catcher were not clicking to begin the game, which was clear by the number of times Freeland shook off Wolters’ signs. But the two huddled together on the bench, regrouped and then picked apart the Mets’ lineup.
“I was (warming up) in the bullpen before the game, and the command wasn’t there,” Freeland said. “Obviously, in the first inning the command wasn’t there. They were jumping early on pitches. But after that first inning, Tony and I talked and got on the same page. Because there were a few sequences in there that we didn’t agree upon in the first inning. But we communicated well the rest of the game.”
Reliever Adam Ottavino, who pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his first save since Sept. 30, 2016 vs. Milwaukee, was greatly impressed by Freeland.
“To give up two runs in the first, and then end up going seven innings? And give up nothing? That’s incredible,” Ottavino said. “That’s as good as it gets. He made mental adjustments and showed toughness. Everything you would want to see.”
CarGo’s slump. Right fielder , who was not in Sunday’s starting lineup and is off to a sluggish start — batting 17-for-80 (.213) with three home runs and 12 RBIs in 25 games — still has Black’s backing.
Black said that Gonzalez’s slow start might come from signing late as a free agent (March 12), as well as a hamstring injury that landed Gonzalez on the 10-day disabled list.
“I haven’t put CarGo in there regularly since he came off the injury,” Black said. “There is so much season left for CarGo to contribute. The bat speed is there. He has hit in a little tough luck at times. But I suspect he is going to be like Desi (Desmond), like (catcher) Chris (Iannetta), like some other guys who aren’t quite there. They are going to be contributors.”
Sterling Starters
The Rockies’ rotation is rolling right now:
- In his last three starts, left-hander Kyle Freeland has a 2.14 ERA
- Starters have pitched at least seven innings in six of Colorado’s last seven games
- Over the last 11 games, they have a combined ERA of 1.71
- The 11-game stretch includes 10 quality starts
- Eight consecutive quality starts is tied for the longest streak in club history
The Denver Post needs your support.
.
