The history of no-hitters involving the Colorado Rockies

DENVER, CO – JULY 09: Starting pitcher Kyle Freeland #31 of the Colorado Rockies tips his hat to the crowd as he leaves the game in the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Coors Field on July 9, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Today, Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland nearly threw a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox. It was nearly the second no-hitter in Rockies’ history and the second in Coors Field history.

Today, Kyle Freeland nearly threw the second no-hitter of the 2017 season against the Chicago White Sox. The first and only no-hitter was thrown by Edinson Volquez against the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 3. Freeland had plenty of run support as he won 10-0. It would have been the 297th no-hitter (including 23 perfect games) in baseball history. 98 of those no-hitters have been in the past 40 years (since 1977).

Rockies no-hitters

Of those 297 no-hitters, the only no-hitter thrown in Rockies history was by Ubaldo Jimenez on April 17, 2010 at Turner Field vs. the Atlanta Braves. He had six walks and seven strikeouts and needed 128 pitches to accomplish the feat. The Rockies won by a score of 4-0.

Coors Field no-hitters

The only other no-hitter in Coors Field history was thrown by Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo on September 17, 1996, the second year of Coors Field. The Dodgers won 9-0 as Nomo achieved his 16th win of the year. Nomo walked four and struck out eight and need 110 pitches to accomplish the feat. This was the first of two no-hitters that Nomo threw in his MLB career as he threw one on April 4, 2001 when he was with the Boston Red Sox. He threw it against the Baltimore Orioles.

Freeland’s no-hitter broken up

In the 9th inning with only two more outs needed to finish the accomplish the feat, Freeland gave up a hit to White Sox switch hitting left fielder Melky Cabrera, who was batting right-handed against the lefty Freeland, on a fastball that was high and inside to Cabrera. It was Freeland’s final pitch of the afternoon as manager Bud Black replaced him with right-handed pitcher Jordan Lyles. Freeland had 126 pitches with only three walks and he had nine strikeouts.

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Final Thoughts

Freeland will also have plenty of time to rest since the Rockies are entering the All-Star break. The game was also a great way to boost the self-esteem of Freeland as in his previous three starts, he only went 17 1/3 innings and allowed 14 runs and he had an ERA of 7.27. Batters hit .347 off him in his previous starts. Also, I talked earlier today in this article about how the Rockies’ offense needs to produce more and they did today as they scored 10 runs. The near no-hitter and offensive might be the point of departure for the Rockies to stop their offensive slide and recover to chase the Diamondbacks and Dodgers for the NL West.