Dodgers at Rockies
Denver native Kyle Freeland has yet to make his first official pitch in the majors, but his first taste of big-league action this season against the Los Angeles Dodgers proved to be a bit of a struggle. One of the Colorado Rockies' top pitching prospects will make his major-league debut Friday when the Rockies host the Dodgers in their home opener.
Freeland opened the spring with a poor showing against Los Angeles on Feb. 28 - giving up four runs (three earned) over only two innings - before rebounding with a mostly solid showing in March (2-1, 2.41 ERA in five appearances (three starts). The 22-year-old will face the daunting task of taming Coors Field in his first assignment, but his job figures to be made a bit easier after Colorado opened the season by taking three of four on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers behind the hot bat of Mark Reynolds (7-for-15, two homers and six RBIs). The Dodgers figure to present a significant obstacle for Freeland after outscoring the San Diego Padres 27-10 while winning three of four at home against their National League West rival. Yasiel Puig sparked the offense in Thursday's 10-2 victory with two homers and three runs scored, and he was one of three Los Angeles hitters to drive in five runs during the series, joining Corey Seager and Joc Pederson.
TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, SportsNet LA (Los Angeles), ROOT (Colorado)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers LH Hyun-Jin Ryu (2016: 0-1, 11.57 ERA) vs. Rockies LH Kyle Freeland (NR)
Ryu won a rotation spot during spring training after posting a 2.57 ERA and 12:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio across four starts, but he will be taking the mound for only the second time in the regular season since the end of the 2014 campaign. The 30-year-old South Korean battled shoulder and elbow injuries for most of the last two years and gave up six runs in 4 2/3 frames to San Diego in early July during his only turn last season. Ryu is 3-2 with a 4.00 ERA in five starts versus the Rockies.
Freeland held his own in six exhibition appearances (four starts), going 2-2 with a 3.48 ERA while striking out 19 over 20 2/3 innings. The No. 8 overall pick of the 2014 draft posted an 11-10 record along with a 3.89 ERA in 26 combined turns at Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque in 2016 and went 17-12, 3.49 in 45 minor-league starts before discovering he made the team out of spring training over the weekend. Freeland doesn't strike out many batters, however, fanning 169 over 247 2/3 minor-league frames.
WALK-OFFS
1. Puig's two-homer game Thursday was his first since June 4, 2013 - his second game in the majors.
2. Colorado's top three hitters - Charlie Blackmon, DJ LeMahieu and Carlos Gonzalez - went a combined 5-for-47 against the Brewers.
3. Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado, who notched at least one hit in each game against Milwaukee, batted .294 with five home runs against the Dodgers last season, including .419 at Coors Field.