If this is Kyle Freeland‘s Colorado swan song, he’s trending toward hitting it on a high note.
The Thomas Jefferson graduate and Rockies mainstay has struggled this year, with a 6.27 ERA in 22 starts that ranks among his worst seasons in purple pinstripes. But the southpaw has turned it on in August as his contract year winds down, including another gem this weekend in San Francisco to jumpstart Colorado winning a second straight road series.
Freeland threw eight innings of one-run ball in a 5-2 win on Friday at Oracle Park. After San Francisco won 7-1 on Saturday, the Rockies bounced-back with a see-saw 13-7 victory on Sunday to clinch the series against their fellow National League West cellar-dweller.
“As we come down the stretch here, I’ll have a lot of those thoughts the last (six weeks of the season) of what my time meant here and how I want to finish everything up, and how I want to say my goodbyes to this organization as a whole,” Freeland told The Denver Post last homestand. “Because it’s been a long time and I’ve made a lot of friends, created a lot of family and created a lot of memories here. So it’s going to be bittersweet.
“This isn’t the end of my career. I still plan on playing baseball after this year and we’ll see where that is.”
He has a 1.27 ERA in three August starts, which began with his first career complete game against the Royals at Coors Field on Aug. 2. He entered that game as one of two pitchers in MLB history with at least 250 starts and no complete games, along with Diamondbacks’ left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez.
Freeland has a conditional player option for 2027 that vests if he pitches 170 innings this season. He’s currently at 120 2/3 innings, with eight scheduled starts remaining. He’d have to average more than six innings per start the rest of the way to vest that option, which is unlikely.
The Rockies’ starting pitching depth is extremely thin, so it’s possible the club entertains bringing Freeland back on a short deal to try and prop up the rotation in 2027. But it’s also possible that Freeland, despite a down year, signs elsewhere. Playing for a contender is on his radar, and wherever he goes, he could project as a back-end starter or even possibly a middle reliever.
“I obviously want to be a starter,” Freeland said. “But if it comes down to a prove-it contract (somewhere else) or that I could potentially be on a contender out of the bullpen — whether it’s this, that, or the other, that would be a decision that myself and my wife (Ashley) would have to make and see what would be the best fit for me.”
Freeland’s next start comes against the Dodgers on Wednesday in LoDo opposite Los Angeles right-hander Roki Sasaki. Freeland has a 5.23 career ERA in 28 starts against the Dodgers, against whom he made his MLB debut on April 7, 2017, with six innings of one-run ball.
Rockies road offense revitalization continues. The Rockies hammered the Giants pitching on Sunday. In only the fifth time in 233 games at Oracle Park where Colorado has scored 10 or more times, the club’s 13 runs were the third-most runs in franchise history in San Francisco. (The record is 17 in a win on May 5, 2016).
Colorado is averaging 4.33 runs per game on the road in 2026, a significant jump from its 2.81 road scoring average in ’25 that is the largest year-by-year increase in franchise history.
On Sunday, every starter in the lineup got a hit minus Jordan Beck, who walked twice. The Rockies were 5-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Adael Amador hit a three-run homer in the second inning, and Brett Sullivan hit a three-run homer in the seventh that put the game on ice. Zac Veen also had a highlight when he dashed home from third on a blocked pitch in the four-run sixth, a play that made it 7-7 and tilted the momentum permanently in Colorado’s favor.
“Veen, playing with his energy, was awesome when he took home there,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer told Rockies TV. “I had Veen in ’22 in the (Arizona) Fall League, so I’ve seen that many times. I’ve seen him walk and run directly to second base on a passed ball.
“He plays the game differently than other people. Having him and (rookie utilityman) Cole Carrigg on the same team is pretty special. He plays without fear — that’s what that is, and we like that.”
Hunter Goodman shoulder issue. The Rockies’ all-star catcher did not play in the series in San Francisco due to left shoulder inflammation, which Schaeffer Schaeffer said the injury occurred earlier in the road trip during a swing in the Rockies’ series win over Arizona, and Sullivan caught all three games against the Giants.
Goodman entered Sunday ranked fifth in the majors with 34 homers. He’ll have to remain healthy, and get piping hot over the last six weeks, to make a push for the Rockies’ single-season home run record of 49. That mark was set by Larry Walker in 1997, and then matched by fellow National Baseball Hall of Famer Todd Helton in 2001.
Also of note to track: the NL single-season Reds Hall of Famer Johnny Bench holds that record at 45 (38 hit as a catcher) in 1970, while the Braves’ Javy Lopez holds the NL record for most homers while playing the position at 42 in 2003. Goodman has a better shot at breaking Bench’s mark. He’s hit 28 homers this season while playing catcher and 6 as the DH.
Up next. The Rockies now head home from their season-long 11-day, nine-game road trip to host the two-time defending champion Dodgers followed by the Guardians at Coors Field.
Entering Sunday, Los Angeles remains in command of the NL West but is two games back of the Brewers for the top seed in the league. And Cleveland is one of a bunch of teams hanging around the American League wild card race, as the Guardians are one game back of the second spot.
The Rockies (50-74) need to go 13-25 down the stretch to avoid their fourth consecutive 100-loss season. With the series win in San Francisco, Colorado is also just one game back of the Giants for fourth place in the division. The last time the Rockies didn’t finish last in the NL West was 2021.
“This was huge (to win consecutive road series), especially in-division,” Brett Sullivan told Rockies TV. “We believe in this group, and we’ve shown it this road trip.”
