Colorado Rockies game no. 103 thread: Kyle Freeland vs. Joe Musgrove

Freeland looks to stay hot after longest start of the year

On the final leg of a 10-game road trip, the Colorado Rockies leave Anaheim for San Diego as they open their final series of the season at Petco Park. The four-game set comes against a San Diego Padres squad eager to erase the six games separating them and the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants.

On the Rockies’ front, tonight’s contest could be the last in which Trevor Story dons a Rockies cap. The Friday afternoon trade deadline is just hours away, and rumors have been set ablaze about the future of the star shortstop.

Kyle Freeland will take the hill tonight, five days removed from an exceptional performance at Dodger Stadium. He tossed seven innings of one-run ball against the Dodgers in his last start, holding them to five hits. The left-hander threw just 89 pitches and completed seven frames for the first time this year. All five of his pitches were thrown right around his season average, with his fastball and changeup leading the way (both at 23.6 percent use).

Joe Musgrove will take the mound for the Padres after a six-inning, two-run performance against the Marlins in his last start. Recent opponents have seen a different form of Musgrove than his 3.13 season ERA will suggest, as he’s allowed 17 earned runs in his last five starts (24 ¹⁄₃ IP). He’ll look to heat back up against a Rockies team that he’s fared well against: Colorado has scored one earned run off the right-hander this year in a combined 11 ¹⁄₃ frames.

Musgrove hasn’t thrown any of his pitches over 30 percent of the time this year, so the Rockies can expect a balanced mix of curveballs, sliders, cutters and four-seamers tonight. He will throw his changeup almost exclusively to lefties, while his slider is often the preferred weapon for strikeouts.

The Rockies may need Freeland to go deep in tonight’s contest after the club threw five different relievers on Wednesday night (if counting Lucas Gilbreath, the opener). The team has called upon reserves, however, as right-handers José Mujica and Ashton Goudeau have joined the roster.

Mujica was called up earlier this year but was sent down without a big league appearance. Goudeau has been a member of six different organizations in the last nine months, and has been DFA’d four times since the start of the season (seriously).

Start Time: 8:10 p.m. MDT

TV: AT&T SportsNet, MLB.TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

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