DENVER -- A two-week stretch between starts didn't seem to bother rookie left-hander Kyle Freeland.
Freeland pitched six strong innings in his first start since taking a no-hitter into the ninth the day before the All-Star break, and the Colorado Rockies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 13-3 on Sunday.
Trevor Story, pinch-hitter Pat Valaika and Mark Reynolds backed him by hitting two-run homers during a seven-run sixth. Reynolds connected for a second homer in the eighth, his second multihomer game of the season and 25th of his career.
Freeland (10-7), whose July 9 no-hit bid against the Chicago White Sox was broken up by Melky Cabrera's one-out single in the ninth, allowed two runs on six hits while striking out three and walking two. He moved into a tie with teammate Antonio Senzatela for most wins among major league rookies this season.
"I felt like I could just jump right back in. I felt like I hadn't missed a beat," said Freeland, who threw three hitless innings between starts in his first career relief appearance July 15 against the New York Mets.
Freeland pounded the low zone with his sinker, fastball and slider and induced one groundout after another from Pirates batters, who didn't have a hit reach the outfield until Josh Harrison's double leading off the fourth.
"He kept the ball down," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "Even with his misses, he kept attacking and he didn't try to change his plan.
"If you keep hitting the ball to (All-Star third baseman Nolan) Arenado, that's usually not a recipe for success."
Indeed, in Freeland's final inning, after giving up a leadoff homer to David Freese and walking Josh Bell, he retired three consecutive batters on grounders to Arenado.
"He creates top-hit action because his stuff is lively down in the zone," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "He has the ability to pitch up and in at times and he's got to do that to keep them honest. But his bread and butter is down, and we saw that today."
Freeland also benefited from a surging Colorado offense that has averaged 10.6 runs over the last seven games.
"Our offense came out banging today," Freeland said. "We got runs early and then we opened up the flood gates. They didn't stop."
Charlie Blackmon also homered among his three hits and Arenado had a pair of hits and three RBI in helping the Rockies take two of three for their first series win against Pittsburgh in three years.
Bell and Starling Marte had run-scoring singles for the Pirates.
Leading 5-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth, the Rockies put together their second-biggest inning of the season -they scored eight runs on two occasions -- by sending 11 men to the plate and pounding out six of their 15 hits in the game.
Carlos Gonzalez had two hits in the inning, including a leadoff single. Story followed with a home run that chased Ivan Nova (10-7). Reliever Wade LeBlanc then walked Ryan Hannigan before Valaika drove the first pitch he saw into the left-field bleachers for his eighth home run.
Arenado hit a one-out RBI single ahead of Reynolds' homer, his 21st of the season that pushed the Rockies' lead to 10 runs.
Nova went five-plus innings and allowed a season-high seven runs on nine hits. He dropped to 0-3 with a 9.45 ERA in four career starts against Colorado.
"I missed a lot of pitches today up in the zone, in the middle of the plate and you can't do that against a lineup like this," Nova said. "But you have to able to turn the page."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rockies: OF Gerardo Parra was held out of the starting lineup for a second consecutive game after aggravating a bruised right calf when he fouled a pitch off his lower leg Wednesday against San Diego. ... RHP Tyler Chatwood (right calf strain) is slated to pitch a simulated game Monday in St. Louis, where the team opens a three-game set.
UP NEXT
Pirates: RHP Gerrit Cole (7-7, 4.18 ERA) is 4-1 with a 3.05 ERA over his last seven starts. His only loss in that span was June 30 to San Francisco, where he's slated to pitch Monday's opener of a three-game set.
Rockies: RHP Antonio Senzatela (10-3, 4.67 ERA) will try to move back ahead of Freeland for the rookie wins lead and will be going for his second against the Cardinals in Monday's series opener at St. Louis. He pitched eight shutout innings in his previous outing against the Cardinals on May 26.
Freeland pitched six strong innings in his first start since taking a no-hitter into the ninth the day before the All-Star break, and the Colorado Rockies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 13-3 on Sunday.
Trevor Story, pinch-hitter Pat Valaika and Mark Reynolds backed him by hitting two-run homers during a seven-run sixth. Reynolds connected for a second homer in the eighth, his second multihomer game of the season and 25th of his career.
Freeland (10-7), whose July 9 no-hit bid against the Chicago White Sox was broken up by Melky Cabrera's one-out single in the ninth, allowed two runs on six hits while striking out three and walking two. He moved into a tie with teammate Antonio Senzatela for most wins among major league rookies this season.
"I felt like I could just jump right back in. I felt like I hadn't missed a beat," said Freeland, who threw three hitless innings between starts in his first career relief appearance July 15 against the New York Mets.
Freeland pounded the low zone with his sinker, fastball and slider and induced one groundout after another from Pirates batters, who didn't have a hit reach the outfield until Josh Harrison's double leading off the fourth.
"He kept the ball down," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "Even with his misses, he kept attacking and he didn't try to change his plan.
"If you keep hitting the ball to (All-Star third baseman Nolan) Arenado, that's usually not a recipe for success."
Indeed, in Freeland's final inning, after giving up a leadoff homer to David Freese and walking Josh Bell, he retired three consecutive batters on grounders to Arenado.
"He creates top-hit action because his stuff is lively down in the zone," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "He has the ability to pitch up and in at times and he's got to do that to keep them honest. But his bread and butter is down, and we saw that today."
Freeland also benefited from a surging Colorado offense that has averaged 10.6 runs over the last seven games.
"Our offense came out banging today," Freeland said. "We got runs early and then we opened up the flood gates. They didn't stop."
Charlie Blackmon also homered among his three hits and Arenado had a pair of hits and three RBI in helping the Rockies take two of three for their first series win against Pittsburgh in three years.
Bell and Starling Marte had run-scoring singles for the Pirates.
Leading 5-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth, the Rockies put together their second-biggest inning of the season -they scored eight runs on two occasions -- by sending 11 men to the plate and pounding out six of their 15 hits in the game.
Carlos Gonzalez had two hits in the inning, including a leadoff single. Story followed with a home run that chased Ivan Nova (10-7). Reliever Wade LeBlanc then walked Ryan Hannigan before Valaika drove the first pitch he saw into the left-field bleachers for his eighth home run.
Arenado hit a one-out RBI single ahead of Reynolds' homer, his 21st of the season that pushed the Rockies' lead to 10 runs.
Nova went five-plus innings and allowed a season-high seven runs on nine hits. He dropped to 0-3 with a 9.45 ERA in four career starts against Colorado.
"I missed a lot of pitches today up in the zone, in the middle of the plate and you can't do that against a lineup like this," Nova said. "But you have to able to turn the page."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rockies: OF Gerardo Parra was held out of the starting lineup for a second consecutive game after aggravating a bruised right calf when he fouled a pitch off his lower leg Wednesday against San Diego. ... RHP Tyler Chatwood (right calf strain) is slated to pitch a simulated game Monday in St. Louis, where the team opens a three-game set.
UP NEXT
Pirates: RHP Gerrit Cole (7-7, 4.18 ERA) is 4-1 with a 3.05 ERA over his last seven starts. His only loss in that span was June 30 to San Francisco, where he's slated to pitch Monday's opener of a three-game set.
Rockies: RHP Antonio Senzatela (10-3, 4.67 ERA) will try to move back ahead of Freeland for the rookie wins lead and will be going for his second against the Cardinals in Monday's series opener at St. Louis. He pitched eight shutout innings in his previous outing against the Cardinals on May 26.
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Pittsburgh - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | PIT | COL |
| Marte grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 0 |
| Harrison grounded out to third. | 0 | 0 |
| McCutchen struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Ivan Nova pitching for Pittsburgh | PIT | COL |
| Blackmon singled to right. | 0 | 0 |
| LeMahieu grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Blackmon out at second. | 0 | 0 |
| Arenado struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Pittsburgh - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | PIT | COL |
| Freese grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Bell grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 0 |
| Osuna grounded out to third. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Ivan Nova pitching for Pittsburgh | PIT | COL |
| Reynolds struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Desmond struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| González flied out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Pittsburgh - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | PIT | COL |
| Cervelli grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 0 |
| Mercer reached on infield single to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Nova sacrificed to first, Mercer to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Marte grounded out to third. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Ivan Nova pitching for Pittsburgh | PIT | COL |
| Story walked. | 0 | 0 |
| Hanigan singled to right, Story to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Freeland grounded out to first, Story to third, Hanigan to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Blackmon singled to right, Story scored, Hanigan to third. | 0 | 1 |
| LeMahieu hit by pitch, Blackmon to second. | 0 | 1 |
| Arenado singled to left, Hanigan and Blackmon scored, LeMahieu to second. | 0 | 3 |
| Reynolds singled to left, LeMahieu to third, Arenado to second. | 0 | 3 |
| Desmond grounded out to third, LeMahieu scored, Arenado to third, Reynolds to second. | 0 | 4 |
| González struck out swinging. | 0 | 4 |
| 4 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Pittsburgh - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | PIT | COL |
| Harrison doubled to deep center. | 0 | 4 |
| McCutchen struck out swinging. | 0 | 4 |
| Freese grounded out to second, Harrison to third. | 0 | 4 |
| Bell singled to left, Harrison scored. | 1 | 4 |
| Osuna singled to shallow right, Bell to second. | 1 | 4 |
| Cervelli walked, Bell to third, Osuna to second. | 1 | 4 |
| Mercer grounded out to shortstop. | 1 | 4 |
| 1 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Ivan Nova pitching for Pittsburgh | PIT | COL |
| Story grounded out to shortstop. | 1 | 4 |
| Hanigan grounded out to first. | 1 | 4 |
| Freeland struck out swinging. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Pittsburgh - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | PIT | COL |
| Nova struck out swinging. | 1 | 4 |
| Marte reached on infield single to second. | 1 | 4 |
| Harrison popped out to shortstop. | 1 | 4 |
| McCutchen grounded out to shortstop. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Ivan Nova pitching for Pittsburgh | PIT | COL |
| Blackmon homered to left (397 feet). | 1 | 5 |
| LeMahieu singled to center. | 1 | 5 |
| LeMahieu to second on wild pitch by Nova. | 1 | 5 |
| Arenado lined out to center. | 1 | 5 |
| Reynolds grounded out to third. | 1 | 5 |
| Desmond lined out to second. | 1 | 5 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Pittsburgh - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | PIT | COL |
| Freese homered to center (449 feet). | 2 | 5 |
| Bell walked. | 2 | 5 |
| Osuna grounded out to third, Bell to second. | 2 | 5 |
| Cervelli grounded out to third. | 2 | 5 |
| Mercer grounded out to third. | 2 | 5 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Ivan Nova pitching for Pittsburgh | PIT | COL |
| González singled to right center. | 2 | 5 |
| Story homered to left (420 feet), González scored. | 2 | 7 |
| Moroff at shortstop. | 2 | 7 |
| LeBlanc relieved Nova. | 2 | 7 |
| Hanigan walked. | 2 | 7 |
| Valaika hit for Freeland. | 2 | 7 |
| Valaika homered to left (419 feet), Hanigan scored. | 2 | 9 |
| Blackmon grounded out to first. | 2 | 9 |
| LeMahieu walked. | 2 | 9 |
| LeMahieu to second on wild pitch by LeBlanc. | 2 | 9 |
| Arenado singled to center, LeMahieu scored. | 2 | 10 |
| Reynolds homered to right (404 feet), Arenado scored. | 2 | 12 |
| Desmond struck out swinging. | 2 | 12 |
| González doubled to left. | 2 | 12 |
| Hudson relieved LeBlanc. | 2 | 12 |
| Story grounded out to third. | 2 | 12 |
| 7 Runs, 6 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Pittsburgh - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Scott Oberg pitching for Colorado | PIT | COL |
| Oberg relieved Freeland. | 2 | 12 |
| Moroff grounded out to second. | 2 | 12 |
| Marte grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 12 |
| Harrison singled to left. | 2 | 12 |
| Frazier hit for McCutchen. | 2 | 12 |
| Frazier doubled to left center, Harrison to third. | 2 | 12 |
| Freese walked. | 2 | 12 |
| Bell struck out looking. | 2 | 12 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Jhan Marinez pitching for Pittsburgh | PIT | COL |
| Marte in center field. | 2 | 12 |
| Harrison at third base. | 2 | 12 |
| Frazier at second base. | 2 | 12 |
| Stewart catching. | 2 | 12 |
| Jaso in left field. | 2 | 12 |
| Mariñez relieved Hudson. | 2 | 12 |
| Hanigan flied out to center. | 2 | 12 |
| Amarista hit for Oberg. | 2 | 12 |
| Amarista grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 12 |
| Blackmon lined out to center. | 2 | 12 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Pittsburgh - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Adam Ottavino pitching for Colorado | PIT | COL |
| Amarista in center field. | 2 | 12 |
| Ottavino relieved Oberg. | 2 | 12 |
| Osuna singled to left. | 2 | 12 |
| Stewart walked, Osuna to second. | 2 | 12 |
| Jaso struck out looking. | 2 | 12 |
| Moroff struck out swinging. | 2 | 12 |
| Marte singled to center, Osuna scored, Stewart to third. | 3 | 12 |
| Harrison reached on infield single to catcher, Marte to second. | 3 | 12 |
| Frazier lined out to left. | 3 | 12 |
| 1 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Jhan Marinez pitching for Pittsburgh | PIT | COL |
| LeMahieu struck out swinging. | 3 | 12 |
| Arenado struck out swinging. | 3 | 12 |
| Reynolds homered to center (465 feet). | 3 | 13 |
| Desmond singled to right. | 3 | 13 |
| González grounded out to shortstop. | 3 | 13 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Pittsburgh - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Mike Dunn pitching for Colorado | PIT | COL |
| Dunn relieved Ottavino. | 3 | 13 |
| Mariñez struck out swinging. | 3 | 13 |
| Bell popped out to second. | 3 | 13 |
| Osuna grounded out to shortstop. | 3 | 13 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Pittsburgh Pirates | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Marte LF-CF | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | .272 | .318 | .358 |
| Harrison 2B-3B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | .277 | .355 | .432 |
| McCutchen CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 | .292 | .384 | .507 |
a-Frazier PH-2B
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .267 | .345 | .365 |
| Freese 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 17 | .251 | .385 | .372 |
Mariñez P
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .167 | .167 | .333 |
| Bell 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 25 | .248 | .326 | .484 |
| Osuna RF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | .248 | .290 | .451 |
| Cervelli C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | .271 | .365 | .413 |
Stewart C
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | .214 | .276 | .286 |
| Mercer SS | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | .262 | .338 | .415 |
LeBlanc P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 | .200 | .200 |
Hudson P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Jaso LF
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .221 | .308 | .405 |
| Nova P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .026 | .026 | .026 |
Moroff SS
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | .123 | .227 | .193 |
| Totals | 37 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 170 | |||
| a-doubled to left center for A Mccutchen in the 7th | ||||||||||
| BATTING 2B: Harrison (19, Freeland); Frazier (12, Oberg) HR: Freese (7, 6th inning off Freeland 0 on, 0 Out) RBI: Bell (54), Freese (30), Marte (9) S: Nova 2-out RBI: Bell, Marte Pirates RISP: 3-13 (Bell 1-2, Harrison 1-1, Frazier 0-1, Mercer 0-2, Freese 0-1, Cervelli 0-1, Moroff 0-1, Marte 1-2, Jaso 0-1, McCutchen 0-1) Team LOB: 12 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING DP: 1 (Harrison-Mercer-Bell). | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Coors Field, Denver, CO |
| Attendance | 40,118 (79.6% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:19 |
| Weather | 89 degrees, partly cloudy |
| Wind | 5 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - David Rackley, First Base - Joe West, Second Base - Alfonso Marquez, Third Base - Chad Fairchild |
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