Rockies No. 1 starter Kyle Freeland gets back on track after two rough starts

DENVER — Kyle Freeland stopped the bleeding Monday night.

Against the same Arizona Diamondbacks side that battered the Colorado Rockies’ No. 1 starter for 10 earned runs in just 2 1/3 innings on a disastrous Opening Day, Freeland allowed 4 runs over 5 innings of work — two of which were unearned — to earn a no-decision in what would be a 7-5 Rockies win.

“I can’t lie to you; those first two starts were an absolute gut punch to me coming off the spring that I had, riding high with a lot of confidence,” Freeland said. “To have it wiped away like that — a pretty terrible feeling. But that’s why we keep playing this game.”

Freeland’s night ended with the Rockies trailing, 4-3. A 3-run sixth-inning burst for the Rockies — made possible by two singles, two walks and a Brenton Doyle double — took Freeland off the hook.

Peter Lambert, who pitched two scoreless innings of relief after Freeland’s five innings of work, got the win. Justin Lawrence, who struggled in two relief appearances during the home-opening series against Tampa Bay, delivered a scoreless eighth inning to preserve the Rockies’ 2-run lead.

Charlie Blackmon added a solo home run to right field — his first of the season — with two outs in the bottom of the eighth to extend the Rockies’ lead and provide the final margin.

Freeland would have been in position for the win if not for a Ryan McMahon error at third base in the bottom of the fourth. McMahon, a Gold Glove finalist each of the last three years, flubbed a two-out grounder from Arizona’s Ketel Marte, allowing two runs to cross the plate to extend the Diamondbacks’ lead to 4-1.

Freeland managed to save 10.97 more runs off his earned-run average with his work Monday. He came into the night carrying a 27.00 ERA after following his season-opening start by yelling 7 earned runs over 3.1 innings in Chicago on April 2.

Freeland’s ERA now sits at 16.03. Obviously, that won’t do over the long haul. But at least he’s got it headed back in the right direction.

What’s more, Kyle Freeland proved equal to the task of matching the National League champions’ ace.

Arizona starter Zac Gallen struggled as the night progressed, with more than half of his 108 pitches coming in the fourth and fifth innings. He left with a 4-3 lead, but the Rockies rallied against a Diamondbacks bullpen fatigued by extended use in the 3-game sweep the Snakes suffered at the hands of Atlanta over the weekend.

It wasn’t all that Kyle Freeland wanted. But Monday night was a step back in the right direction for the Colorado native.