Kyle Freeland pitched with the precision of a Rolex in the Rockies’ 6-5 victory over the Reds on Wednesday night at Great American Ball Park.
The veteran left-hander got a big assist from center fielder Sam Hilliard, who hit two big flys in his first two at-bats to spark a Colorado offense that banged out 12 hits.
“I had the best seat in the house in center and Kyle’s stuff was dancing tonight,” Hilliard told Rockies.TV.
“(Freeland) made pitches when he needed to,” continued Hilliard, who got a rare start in center on a night when Brenton Doyle was the designated hitter. “Kyle’s been a ‘dawg’ ever since he came back from the (injured list), and I’m super happy for him.”
The Rockies snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Reds and won for just the second time in their last 14 games in Cincinnati.
It wasn’t easy, because, of course, nothing comes easy for the 2024 Rockies. The Reds scored three runs in the ninth off relievers Victor Vodnik and Jalen Beeks. Tyler Stephenson led off the Reds’ ninth with a homer off Vodnik and three singles off Beeks produced two more runs.
Freeland, who gave up two runs on eight hits and walked just one, was nearly untouchable for his first six innings. With his knuckle curve and slider confounding the Reds, Freeland struck out nine over his 6 2/3 innings. He produced 15 swings and misses with his curveball. His nine Ks were one shy of his career high.
In four starts since coming off the injured list on June 23, Freeland has posted a 1.71 ERA with 21 strikeouts vs. only five walks.
“Kyle did his part, and he pitched great,” manager Bud Black told reporters in Cincinnati. “It was a good win and we needed this one.”
Black then paid Freeland with one of his highest compliments, saying, “He really pitched tonight.” And Black loved that Freeland and catcher Elias Diaz counterpunched against the Reds’ aggressive offense.
“There was a sense that the Reds’ plan was maybe to look hard against Kyle for the hard fastball and hard slider,” Black said. “But he and ‘Ellie’ adjusted pretty quickly and went to the curveball. He threw probably the most curveballs he’s thrown in his career tonight.”
Freeland looked like he was heading for a possible complete game until he encountered heavy traffic in the seventh. Stephenson led off with a double but was erased at third when he tried to stretch his hit into a double. Right fielder Jake Cave and second baseman Brendan Rodgers made two excellent throws to nail Stephenson.
Noelvi Marte hit a double to left and scored on Rece Hinds’ single, and when Freeland walked No. 9 hitter Santiago Espinal, Freeland’s night was done. Vodnik needed just one pitch to end the seventh when he coaxed a groundout out of Jonathan India.
Hilliard’s two-run homer in the third was his first in the majors since April 24 of last season when he played for Atlanta. Wednesday, he timed up starter Frankie Montas’ 2-1 cutter and lined it at 105 mph over the right-field wall.
In the fifth, Hilliard led off the opposite-field blast to left off Montas. This time, he sat on Montas’ first-pitch slider and drove it 382 feet to give Colorado a 4-1 cushion. Wednesday marked the third multi-homer game of Hilliard’s career.
“I love the fact that I’m back with the Rockies; it feels like home to me,” said Hilliard, who hit his first homer in a Rockies uniform in 2022. “It feels really, really good. I’ve been working really hard and it paid off today. Hopefully, I can build off this, get some momentum, and get some opportunities to help the team win.”
Thursday’s pitching matchup
Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (2-5, 4.47 ERA) at Reds RHP Hunter Greene (5-4, 3.45)
11:10 a.m. Thursday, Great American Ball Park
TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM
Gomber is coming off a strong performance in Colorado’s 3-1 victory over the Royals at Coors Field. The lefty surrendered just one run on six hits and recorded three strikeouts over seven innings. He blanked Kansas City for five-plus innings before giving up a solo home run to Vinny Pasquantino in the sixth. Gomber posted his first win since May 25 at San Diego. He threw 99 pitchers, his most since throwing 100 on July 12, 2022, at San Diego. Gomber is 1-1 with a 4.78 ERA in eight career games (four starts) against the Reds.
Greene, a first-time All-Star, is facing the Rockies for the third time in his career. His first two starts were at Coors Field and he didn’t fare well, losing both games while posting a 10.80 ERA and giving up four home runs. He’s coming off an excellent start vs. the Tigers, pitching seven scoreless innings and allowing just three hits while striking out seven. He left the game with a 2-0 lead but he didn’t get the win because of a blown save. He’s been the victim of terrible run support this season. Cincinnati has averaged 3.39 runs per game in which he starts, tied for third-lowest among all qualified major league starters.
Pitching probables
Friday: Rockies RHP Tanner Gordon (0-1, 7.11) at Mets LHP Sean Menaea (5-3, 3.43), 5:10 p.m.
Saturday: Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (1-8, 5.29) at Mets RHP Christian Scott (0-2, 4.15), 2:10 p.m.
— Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
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