Rockies follow up 100 loss season by starting with one of the worst losses in franchise history

On the heels of the worst season in franchise history, things just felt different this year. We knew the Rockies weren't going to contend with the juggernauts that are the LA Dodgers, Atlanta Braves etc., but this club seemed exciting! They had a potential MVP candidate and budding superstar, Nolan Jones, they got their shortstop of the future, Ezequiel Tovar, and they had a number of Gold Glove candidates. They weren't blocking the youngsters this year; it was their time to shine.

The serious questions remained surrounding the starting rotation and with the losses of German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela, things didn't seem like they would be getting much better this year. However, in Spring Training this year, Kyle Freeland looked to be a new man. An uptick in fastball velocity along with a seemingly newfound mentality of being aggressive and attacking hitters, had him poised to break out and lead this inexperienced staff.

On Opening Day, however, Rockies fans unfortunately got to witness the worst start of Kyle Freeland's career and brought up a lot of bad memories for Rockies fans after a 100-loss season that saw they in non-competitive games, regularly. Despite the awful season, nothing could compare to the embarassment and disappointment that Rockies fans would face on Opening Day.

The combination of excitement and loyalty regarding the youthful Rockies and the hometown native, Kyle Freeland was completely destroyed by the defending NL pennant winning, Arizona Diamondbacks. Like we talked about, the Rockies were for a tough matchup against Zac Gallen, but it didn't matter what they did against one of the favorites for the NL Cy Young.

Kyle Freeland looked okay to start the game, a two run first inning on a home run by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. gave the Diamondbacks a 2-0 lead, but Freeland was able to bounce back after that. In the second inning, after a leadoff double, he struck out Blaze Alexander and got Alek Thomas to ground into a double play. It seemed like Freeland had settled down and was in control, and then the wheels fell off!

Back-to-back singles to start the inning were followed up with a Corbin Carroll walk. The Diamondbacks then strung together four straight hits, giving them a 7-1 lead. Freeland was able to get the first out before surrendering antoher double before being pulled after just 2.1 innings pitched. In relief, Anthony Molina, was only able to register one out, giving up six more runs as the Diamondbacks brought 18 batters to the plate in just the third inning. This was a disaster of a night for the Rockies and their fans.

Unfortunately for the Rockies and their fans, this could become pretty normal throughout the year (maybe not 16 with 14 in one inning, but you get the point). This pitching staff as a whole is set to be one of the worst, if not the worst, in all of baseball. The Rockies and their fans will need to be prepared for this and hope that the offense can just outscore opponents more often than not, but that is hard to do and Rockies fans will need to prepare themselves for yet another long season.

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