Rockies’ Kyle Freeland looking for answers after another rough start

Kyle Freeland’s 2021 season has been difficult, to say the least.

The left-hander got rocked again Wednesday afternoon, although the Rockies toughed out an 8-7 win over San Diego.

The Padres hammered Freeland for five runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings. He labored on a 97-degree day, needing 83 pitches (52 strikes) to get through his abbreviated outing.

After serving up five home runs in four innings in his last start at Cincinnati, Freeland gave up two more on Wednesday, becoming the first Rockies pitcher to give up nine home runs in three starts.

“With the changeup and slider right now, it’s hit or miss,” Freeland said. “The sliders are well-executed out of my hand and feel good … but other times I try to duplicate the same pitch and it backs up. It’s up in the zone, it’s in the zone, it’s not a quality pitch. More times than not, it gets hit. It’s the same thing with the changeup.”

In the third, Padres star shortstop Fernando Tatis, Jr. made mincemeat out of Freeland’s 0-1 change, sending it 477 feet and into the seats in left-center. Tatis’ homer, his 21st, was the longest of his career.

Three batters later, Trent Grisham lifted a two-run homer over the left-field fence.

Freeland strained his left shoulder during spring training and missed the first two months of the season. He made his season debut on May 25 but he remains winless in five starts. His ERA stands at 9.58 and opponents are hitting .400 against him.

“I think his stuff is fine,” manager Bud Black said. “His delivery is fine. It’s just a matter of fine-tuning that (pitch) location.”

Gray update. Right-hander Jon Gray, on the injured list with a sore right elbow and forearm, is scheduled to throw a side session on Thursday. If that goes well, Gray will next pitch a rehab start for Triple-A Albuquerque.

Footnotes. Rockies right-handed reliever Tyler Kinley, who pitched two scoreless innings Wednesday, was awarded the team’s MVP chain as the player of the game. … Catcher Elias Díaz recorded his first three-hit game since Sept. 26, 2020 at Arizona, and the 10th three-hit game of his career. … Shortstop Trevor Story finished 2-for-3 with two doubles, two RBIs, two walks and two stolen bases. His first-inning RBI was the 400th RBI of his career.

On Deck

Brewers RHP Brandon Woodruff (5-2, 1.52) at Rockies RHP German Marquez (4-6, 4.60)6:40 p.m. Thursday, Coors FieldTV: AT&T SportsNetRadio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM

Marquez would probably like to flush the last time he took the hill — a five-inning showing at the Reds that saw him dinged for eight earned runs on 12 hits and two walks with five strikeouts. The right-hander was in command prior to that start, posting a 1.04 ERA with 27 strikeouts and just seven walks in his previous four outings. Like many of his Rockies counterparts, Marquez has been a much more effective pitcher at Coors (3.99 ERA, 1.35 WHIP) than away from it (5.74, 1.61). He is 1-2 in five appearances against the Brewers, with a 5.04 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings. He last faced Milwaukee on April 30, 2019, taking a loss after surrendering four runs over seven innings. Woodruff leads the NL in both WHIP (0.72) and WAR (4.0) for pitchers and is tied for ninth with 97 strikeouts over 83 innings. He has faced the Rockies twice in his career without much success (9.39 ERA, 2.35 WHIP).

Trending: Kyle Freeland’s rough outing constituted a rare dud for Rockies starters at Coors Field. In their previous 16 starts in LoDo, Colorado starters had a 2.67 ERA over 101 innings. Visiting batters hit just .216 during that time frame with eight home runs.

At issue: Carlos Estevez’s blown save on Wednesday was the 10th in 21 opportunities for Colorado relievers this season, and the right-hander’s second in four. The team’s 52.4 save percentage is 12th out of 15 teams in the National League.

Pitching Probables