Arizona Diamondback 9, Colorado Rockies 1: Colorado gets bit early in homestand opener

This was not the start to the homestand the Rockies were hoping for.

Colorado fell to Arizona 9-1 at Coors Field on Friday, dropping to 17-28 while the Diamondbacks moved to 21-22. The Rockies got bit early and spent the rest of the night trying to catch up, as Arizona turned an overturned call in the first inning into six runs and Merrill Kelly handled the rest.

Colorado did not strike out much, but they did not do much else either.

The first inning defined Freeland’s night

Kyle Freeland nearly avoided the first bite.

With two outs in the first inning, Corbin Carroll was initially called out trying to steal third. The call would have ended the inning. Arizona challenged, the call was overturned, and the Diamondbacks took full advantage.

Arizona followed with two walks, four straight run-scoring hits, and six runs before Freeland finally got out of the inning.

Freeland did not look sharp, but to his credit, he kept fighting after that. He stayed in the game into the fourth, which helped the Rockies avoid a full catastrophe for the bullpen. Freeland gave up plenty of loud contact, but it was the mix of softer contact and pressure on the bases that kept the Rockies out of rhythm and on their heels defensively.

On the night, Freeland gave up seven runs on eight hits and four walks. He struck out three and threw 81 pitches, 50 for strikes.

Agnos gives the bullpen length

Zach Agnos took over for Freeland and limited the fourth-inning damage to one run (charged to Freeland) before giving the Rockies some steadier innings from there.

Arizona got to him for two runs in the seventh, but Agnos ended up pitching through the eighth. Agnos covered 4.1 innings in total, allowing two runs on four hits with one strikeout. On a night when Freeland exited before the fourth inning was over — and with the rotation already facing uncertainty — that length helped keep the rest of the bullpen from being overworked.

Seth Halvorsen handled the ninth, working around a hit and a walk to throw a scoreless final inning. The last frame also included an ABS challenge, with Hunter Goodman getting a pitch call overturned for strike three and the second out against Gabriel Moreno.

Meanwhile, Merrill cruised along

Kelly did not give the Rockies many chances to climb back into the game.

Goodman answered Arizona’s six-run first with a solo home run in the bottom half, his 11th of the season.

But the Rockies did not build much from there. Ezequiel Tovar doubled, Mickey Moniak added another double late, and Colorado finished with just four hits. The Rockies did not draw a walk, went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position, and never put together the kind of inning they needed.

Kelly did not overpower the Rockies. He struck out only three and did not issue a walk. But Colorado swung early in counts and made too much soft contact to turn the game back in their direction.

Vintage Kelly vs. Rockies.

Kelly ended up going the distance on 100 pitches, allowing one run on four hits with no walks and three strikeouts. He threw strikes, kept the Rockies quiet, and made the first inning stand up.

Freeland took the loss, dropping to 1-5 with a 7.22 ERA, while Kelly earned the win to move to 3-3 with a 5.91 ERA.

Sterlin Thompson (No. 13 PuRP) also made his major-league debut, entering as a pinch-hitter in the eighth and grounding out in a brief first appearance.

The Rockies will look for a better result tomorrow as the homestand continues.

The Rockies will continue their series against the Diamondbacks on Saturday at Coors Field.

Tomoyuki Sugano is scheduled to start for Colorado. He enters at 3-3 with a 4.07 ERA and 24 strikeouts. Arizona will counter with Eduardo Rodriguez, who is 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 33 strikeouts.

First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. MDT.

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