Giants at Rockies
Coors Field was a house of horrors for the San Francisco Giants in 2017 and 2018, but not this year as they try for a series victory over the host Colorado Rockies on Sunday. San Francisco lost 17 of 19 games in Denver over the previous two seasons but is 6-2 in the Mile High City in 2019 after Saturday's 6-5 victory, scoring 75 runs in the process.
The Giants are 15-7 since the All-Star break and 11-2 in their last 13 games versus the National League West as they sit three games behind Washington for the second wild-card spot. Colorado hasn't won consecutive home games since June 28 and 29 as it has lost 14 of its last 19 contests. The Rockies' Kyle Freeland takes the mound on Sunday in search of the consistent form that helped him finish fourth in 2018 Cy Young Award voting as he opposes Tyler Beede, who has struggled in his last two turns. “There have been some mechanical issues and things of that sort that are quick fixes,” Freeland told reporters. “We know what the issue is, but you start making pitches and then they’re also getting hit, then you start making mistakes. Things can pile on themselves. I know what I need to do to execute. I’m just not doing it.”
TV: 3:10 p.m. ET, NBCS Bay Area (San Francisco), AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Colorado)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Tyler Beede (3-5, 5.01 ERA) vs. Rockies LH Kyle Freeland (2-9, 7.48)
Beede has allowed four runs and 10 hits in each of his last two starts, pitching five innings in a 4-2 loss at Philadelphia on Tuesday and working 5 2/3 frames in a 4-1 setback to the Chicago Cubs on July 24. The 26-year-old native of Massachusetts yielded four runs in 21 2/3 innings over his first three starts in July, including victories at San Diego and Milwaukee. Beede lost his only career appearance against Colorado on May 9, when he permitted two runs, three hits and three walks in two innings of relief in a 12-11 setback at Coors Field.
Freeland appeared to have turned a corner when he allowed an unearned run and four hits in six innings of a 2-0 loss at Washington on July 24 but regressed in his last outing. The 26-year-old Denver native yielded eight runs - seven earned - and seven hits (three home runs) in 3 2/3 innings of a 9-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday and has permitted at least five runs in five of his last six starts - with an extended stay at Triple-A Albuquerque sandwiched between those outings. Freeland is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in two starts against San Francisco this season and owns a 5-3 record and 3.09 mark in 10 career turns versus the club.
WALK-OFFS
1. Colorado OF David Dahl (.302, 15 home runs, 61 RBIs) was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday after sustaining a high ankle sprain, with MGR Bud Black telling reporters the All-Star could be out for "several weeks.''
2. Giants C Buster Posey is batting .374 with 53 RBIs in 72 games at Coors Field after delivering a go-ahead, pinch-hit two-run double and drawing a walk on Saturday.
3. San Francisco's Bruce Bochy, who is retiring at the end of the season, manages his 214th and final game at Coors Field on Sunday - more than twice the amount of contests for any other opposing skipper at the venue.