DENVER -- Kyle Freeland just absorbed the thundering cheers as he tipped his cap and headed off the mound.
"A ton of fun," he said.
Easy to see why: The hometown kid turned in one of the best pitching performances ever at Coors Field.
The rookie left-hander came within two outs of the first no-hitter by a Rockies pitcher at the hitter-friendly park before surrendering a crisp single to Melky Cabrera as Colorado beat the Chicago White Sox 10-0 on Sunday.
Freeland, who was born and raised in Denver, struck out the first batter of the ninth inning and then allowed Cabrera's hit to left field on a 2-2 count.
He would make the same pitch again.
"He just muscled it out," said Freeland, who struck out a career-high nine, walked three and hit a batter.
Cabrera even applauded for Freeland after the hit.
"He was changing speeds and just did a nice job on the mound," Cabrera said.
The 24-year-old Freeland (9-7) threw 126 pitches. Reliever Jordan Lyles got the last two outs to complete the one-hitter.
Mired in a three-game slump, Freeland decided to mix up his game plan by mixing around his fastball. It worked.
To also change things up, his father stood the entire game. It worked as well.
"I'm at a loss for words, for the way he held his composure for the whole game," Don Freeland said.
Dad wasn't the least bit nervous as the no-hit bid went along.
"I talked to myself, `Keep it down. Keep it down. Don't give in. Make him earn it," he said.
Kyle Freeland was trying to throw the second no-hitter in Coors Field history. Hideo Nomo accomplished the feat in 1996 when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The only no-hitter in Rockies history was thrown by Ubaldo Jimenez in 2010 at Atlanta.
Edinson Volquez of the Miami Marlins pitched the lone no-hitter in the majors this season, doing it last month against Arizona.
Freeland even had an RBI single in the seventh for the Rockies' last run.
Freeland watched the end from the dugout. When it was over, his teammates on the bench let him walk alone toward the foul line to greet the winning Rockies coming off the field -- and to soak in another cheer from a crowd that included his parents.
"Incredible," Freeland said. "The fans were great."
Pat Valaika drove in five runs, including a three-run homer as part of a five-run sixth that turned a 2-0 lead into a rout. Charlie Blackmon also hit a solo homer.
Rockies left fielder Gerardo Parra had the play of the day in the eighth as he sprinted for Yolmer Sanchez's blooper in short left and then went into a head-first dive to snare the ball. Parra pointed at Freeland, who pumped his fist and tipped his cap in appreciation.
Carlos Rodon (1-2) allowed six runs over 5 1/3 innings in his third start of the season. He began the season on the disabled list with left biceps bursitis.
"Today was all Freeland and the Rockies," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said.
Freeland attended the University of Evansville and was taken by the Rockies with the eighth overall pick in 2014. His favorite players as a kid were Todd Helton, Larry Walker, the Blake Street Bombers, along with pitchers Jeff Francis and Aaron Cook.
To Nolan Arenado, there's no doubt where this would've ranked had Freeland closed out the no-hit attempt.
"One of the greatest things in Rockies' history," Arenado said. "It would have been a great story, but at the end of the day it's still a great story."
TRAINER'S ROOM
White Sox: RHP Nate Jones (elbow) threw Saturday and felt "a little uncomfortable," manager Rick Renteria said. "He's going be reevaluated and we will see what the evaluation is and we will determine what the plan will be from there for him returning."
Rockies: INF/OF Ian Desmond (strained right calf) is "progressing," Black said. ... Noticeably hobbling, 2B DJ LeMahieu left the game for a pinch runner after a walk in the sixth. The All-Star LeMahieu has been bothered by a groin issue.
PREDICTION
Rockies manager Bud Black predicted this sort of outing. Well, maybe not a one-hitter so much, but how Freeland would throw his first pitch.
Black said it would be a two-seam fastball about 91 mph.
"I hope it's a strike, too," he said.
Black was correct on all accounts.
UP NEXT
White Sox: After the All-Star break, Chicago opens a five-game homestand -- three against Seattle and two versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Rockies: Jon Gray (2-0, 3.75 ERA) will start Friday when the Rockies return from the break to open a three-game series in New York against the Mets.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
"A ton of fun," he said.
Easy to see why: The hometown kid turned in one of the best pitching performances ever at Coors Field.
The rookie left-hander came within two outs of the first no-hitter by a Rockies pitcher at the hitter-friendly park before surrendering a crisp single to Melky Cabrera as Colorado beat the Chicago White Sox 10-0 on Sunday.
Freeland, who was born and raised in Denver, struck out the first batter of the ninth inning and then allowed Cabrera's hit to left field on a 2-2 count.
He would make the same pitch again.
"He just muscled it out," said Freeland, who struck out a career-high nine, walked three and hit a batter.
Cabrera even applauded for Freeland after the hit.
"He was changing speeds and just did a nice job on the mound," Cabrera said.
The 24-year-old Freeland (9-7) threw 126 pitches. Reliever Jordan Lyles got the last two outs to complete the one-hitter.
Mired in a three-game slump, Freeland decided to mix up his game plan by mixing around his fastball. It worked.
To also change things up, his father stood the entire game. It worked as well.
"I'm at a loss for words, for the way he held his composure for the whole game," Don Freeland said.
Dad wasn't the least bit nervous as the no-hit bid went along.
"I talked to myself, `Keep it down. Keep it down. Don't give in. Make him earn it," he said.
Kyle Freeland was trying to throw the second no-hitter in Coors Field history. Hideo Nomo accomplished the feat in 1996 when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The only no-hitter in Rockies history was thrown by Ubaldo Jimenez in 2010 at Atlanta.
Edinson Volquez of the Miami Marlins pitched the lone no-hitter in the majors this season, doing it last month against Arizona.
Freeland even had an RBI single in the seventh for the Rockies' last run.
Freeland watched the end from the dugout. When it was over, his teammates on the bench let him walk alone toward the foul line to greet the winning Rockies coming off the field -- and to soak in another cheer from a crowd that included his parents.
"Incredible," Freeland said. "The fans were great."
Pat Valaika drove in five runs, including a three-run homer as part of a five-run sixth that turned a 2-0 lead into a rout. Charlie Blackmon also hit a solo homer.
Rockies left fielder Gerardo Parra had the play of the day in the eighth as he sprinted for Yolmer Sanchez's blooper in short left and then went into a head-first dive to snare the ball. Parra pointed at Freeland, who pumped his fist and tipped his cap in appreciation.
Carlos Rodon (1-2) allowed six runs over 5 1/3 innings in his third start of the season. He began the season on the disabled list with left biceps bursitis.
"Today was all Freeland and the Rockies," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said.
Freeland attended the University of Evansville and was taken by the Rockies with the eighth overall pick in 2014. His favorite players as a kid were Todd Helton, Larry Walker, the Blake Street Bombers, along with pitchers Jeff Francis and Aaron Cook.
To Nolan Arenado, there's no doubt where this would've ranked had Freeland closed out the no-hit attempt.
"One of the greatest things in Rockies' history," Arenado said. "It would have been a great story, but at the end of the day it's still a great story."
TRAINER'S ROOM
White Sox: RHP Nate Jones (elbow) threw Saturday and felt "a little uncomfortable," manager Rick Renteria said. "He's going be reevaluated and we will see what the evaluation is and we will determine what the plan will be from there for him returning."
Rockies: INF/OF Ian Desmond (strained right calf) is "progressing," Black said. ... Noticeably hobbling, 2B DJ LeMahieu left the game for a pinch runner after a walk in the sixth. The All-Star LeMahieu has been bothered by a groin issue.
PREDICTION
Rockies manager Bud Black predicted this sort of outing. Well, maybe not a one-hitter so much, but how Freeland would throw his first pitch.
Black said it would be a two-seam fastball about 91 mph.
"I hope it's a strike, too," he said.
Black was correct on all accounts.
UP NEXT
White Sox: After the All-Star break, Chicago opens a five-game homestand -- three against Seattle and two versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Rockies: Jon Gray (2-0, 3.75 ERA) will start Friday when the Rockies return from the break to open a three-game series in New York against the Mets.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Chicago - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | CHW | COL |
| Engel grounded out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Cabrera popped out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Abreu struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Carlos Rodon pitching for Chicago | CHW | COL |
| Blackmon flied out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| LeMahieu grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 0 |
| Arenado grounded out to first. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | CHW | COL |
| Frazier struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| A. García popped out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Anderson struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Carlos Rodon pitching for Chicago | CHW | COL |
| Reynolds walked. | 0 | 0 |
| Parra doubled to deep center, Reynolds to third. | 0 | 0 |
| Valaika grounded out to second, Reynolds scored, Parra to third. | 0 | 1 |
| Parra scored on throwing error by catcher Narváez. | 0 | 2 |
| González reached on infield single to shortstop. | 0 | 2 |
| Hanigan grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, González out at second. | 0 | 2 |
| 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | CHW | COL |
| Sánchez struck out swinging. | 0 | 2 |
| Narváez struck out swinging. | 0 | 2 |
| Rodón struck out swinging. | 0 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Carlos Rodon pitching for Chicago | CHW | COL |
| Freeland struck out swinging. | 0 | 2 |
| Blackmon flied out to center. | 0 | 2 |
| LeMahieu grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | CHW | COL |
| Engel grounded out to second. | 0 | 2 |
| Cabrera flied out to left. | 0 | 2 |
| Abreu hit by pitch. | 0 | 2 |
| Frazier grounded out to third. | 0 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Carlos Rodon pitching for Chicago | CHW | COL |
| Arenado singled to center. | 0 | 2 |
| Reynolds struck out swinging. | 0 | 2 |
| Parra flied out to center. | 0 | 2 |
| Valaika lined out to third. | 0 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | CHW | COL |
| A. García grounded out to second. | 0 | 2 |
| Anderson grounded out to second. | 0 | 2 |
| Sánchez grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Carlos Rodon pitching for Chicago | CHW | COL |
| González struck out swinging. | 0 | 2 |
| Hanigan grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 2 |
| Freeland struck out looking. | 0 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | CHW | COL |
| Narváez walked. | 0 | 2 |
| Rodón sacrificed to pitcher, Narváez to second. | 0 | 2 |
| Engel grounded out to shortstop, Narváez to third. | 0 | 2 |
| Cabrera flied out to center. | 0 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Carlos Rodon pitching for Chicago | CHW | COL |
| Blackmon homered to center (477 feet). | 0 | 3 |
| LeMahieu walked. | 0 | 3 |
| Amarista ran for LeMahieu. | 0 | 3 |
| Arenado lined out to right. | 0 | 3 |
| Amarista stole second. | 0 | 3 |
| Reynolds walked. | 0 | 3 |
| Parra singled to right center, Amarista scored, Reynolds to second. | 0 | 4 |
| Beck relieved Rodón. | 0 | 4 |
| Valaika homered to left (428 feet), Reynolds and Parra scored. | 0 | 7 |
| González singled to center. | 0 | 7 |
| Hanigan singled to right, González to second. | 0 | 7 |
| Freeland struck out swinging. | 0 | 7 |
| Blackmon walked, González to third, Hanigan to second. | 0 | 7 |
| Pelfrey relieved Beck. | 0 | 7 |
| Amarista grounded out to second. | 0 | 7 |
| 5 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | CHW | COL |
| Amarista at second base. | 0 | 7 |
| Abreu walked. | 0 | 7 |
| Frazier walked, Abreu to second. | 0 | 7 |
| A. García grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Frazier out at second, Abreu to third. | 0 | 7 |
| Anderson flied out to right. | 0 | 7 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Mike Pelfrey pitching for Chicago | CHW | COL |
| Arenado walked. | 0 | 7 |
| Reynolds singled to center, Arenado to second. | 0 | 7 |
| Parra singled to left, Arenado scored, Reynolds to second. | 0 | 8 |
| Valaika singled to right center, Reynolds scored, Parra to third. | 0 | 9 |
| W. García in right field. | 0 | 9 |
| Infante relieved Pelfrey. | 0 | 9 |
| González fouled out to third. | 0 | 9 |
| Hanigan struck out swinging. | 0 | 9 |
| Freeland singled to center, Parra scored, Valaika to second. | 0 | 10 |
| Blackmon struck out swinging. | 0 | 10 |
| 3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | CHW | COL |
| Sánchez flied out to left. | 0 | 10 |
| Narváez struck out swinging. | 0 | 10 |
| W. García struck out swinging. | 0 | 10 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Gregory Infante pitching for Chicago | CHW | COL |
| Amarista grounded out to second. | 0 | 10 |
| Arenado fouled out to first. | 0 | 10 |
| Reynolds walked. | 0 | 10 |
| Parra flied out to left. | 0 | 10 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | CHW | COL |
| Engel struck out swinging. | 0 | 10 |
| Cabrera singled to left. | 0 | 10 |
| Lyles relieved Freeland. | 0 | 10 |
| Abreu lined out to second. | 0 | 10 |
| Frazier lined out to left. | 0 | 10 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Chicago White Sox | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Engel CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | .259 | .341 | .370 |
| Cabrera LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | .286 | .332 | .416 |
| Abreu 1B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | .299 | .349 | .522 |
| Frazier 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | .213 | .335 | .444 |
| A. García RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | .310 | .353 | .497 |
Infante P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Anderson SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | .240 | .263 | .369 |
| Sánchez 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | .265 | .328 | .398 |
| Narváez C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 19 | .257 | .344 | .279 |
| Rodón P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Beck P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Pelfrey P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
W. García RF
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | .259 | .316 | .424 |
| Totals | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 132 | |||
| BATTING S: Rodón GIDP: A. García White Sox RISP: 0-4 (Cabrera 0-1, Engel 0-1, A. García 0-1, Anderson 0-1) Team LOB: 4 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING E: Narváez (4, throw) DP: 1 (Anderson-Sánchez-Abreu). | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Coors Field, Denver, CO |
| Attendance | 36,541 (72.5% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:13 |
| Weather | 91 degrees, sunny |
| Wind | 4 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Greg Gibson, First Base - Jim Wolf, Second Base - D.J. Reyburn, Third Base - Sam Holbrook |
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