Colorado Rockies morning after: Many questions with few answers

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CHICAGO, IL – OCTOBER 02: Kyle Freeland #21 of the Colorado Rockies stands on the pitcher’s mound in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs during the National League Wild Card Game at Wrigley Field on October 2, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

It seems as if we have talked about the Colorado Rockies rotation ad nauseam for quite some time now. After Saturday night, don’t expect that to die down any time soon.

What’s wrong with Kyle Freeland? That was the cry that went up in unison several times during his four-inning outing on Saturday night. The Colorado Rockies pitcher who held a 3-0 mark and 0.44 ERA in three interleague games was rocked by the Baltimore Orioles for seven runs and 10 hits. That included a three-run homer that would prove to be the difference in Baltimore’s 9-6 win.

So what’s wrong with Freeland? How can a pitcher who finished fourth in the National League Cy Young voting last season end Saturday night with a 6.71 ERA and have surrendered eight homers in his five May outings? Well, we talked about what we’re seeing in this article.

We know what we’re seeing. We’ve seen what’s wrong. But here’s the bigger question perhaps: What comes next? How does Freeland find his footing and return to form?

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It may not be the answer that Rockies fans want to hear … but there really is no answer to that question at the moment coming from Colorado manager Bud Black or Freeland himself.

“It’s not mental,” Black said emphatically in his postgame press conference.

So is there something wrong with his delivery?

“No,” Black answered quickly.

So what is it?

“All in all, I think the first three innings, and even into the fourth, his stuff was good,” Black said. “He’s just not making a critical pitch at critical times.”

A very somber Freeland was asked if there were any silver linings from Saturday’s start that could be taken into his next start.

“Not really, no,” Freeland said.

Freeland said it’s location, getting behind in counts and letting things pile on top of each other that is creating a perfect storm of frustration.

So there’s not one magic bullet to fix all of this, Freeland said.

“I wish there was right now, but it’s just work,” the 26-year-old southpaw said. “I’m trying to be as positive as I can.”

And that’s where perhaps the biggest worry comes in when it comes to what it will take for Freeland to bounce back from this season that is quickly evolving into a nightmare. There’s no question Freeland can return to form … but there are plenty of questions about what it will take for that to actually happen.

DENVER, COLORADO – MAY 25: Nolan Arenado #28 of the Colorado Rockies hits a RBI single in the fifth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Coors Field on May 25, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Freeland’s struggles overshadowed a historic night for Nolan Arenado, who crushed his 200th career home run in the third inning and knocked in Colorado’s first five runs to keep the Rockies within striking distance of the Orioles.

A two-out RBI single in the first. A two-out three-run homer in the third. A two-out RBI single in the fifth. And yet, somehow, Baltimore kept pitching to the All-Star third baseman. For that, the Rockies said thank you and took advantage of the opportunity.

Those three hits represented his ninth three-hit game of the season so far, a mark that leads the Majors. He had 11 three-hit games all of last season.

Arenado told reporters after the game he wasn’t going to celebrate the home run milestone until after Sunday’s series finale against the Orioles. But let’s take a moment to celebrate it for him.

He reached the milestone in his 925th career game. That is the fourth-fewest games played to get to 200 homers in franchise history. Larry Walker needed just 795.

Colorado's rotation issues have to be solved from within. dark. Next

Arenado also has three homers in his last two games and Saturday’s long ball extended his current multi-hit game streak to five, tying the longest stretch of his impressive career.

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It seems as if we have talked about the Colorado Rockies rotation ad nauseam for quite some time now. After Saturday night, don’t expect that to die down any time soon.

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