Rockies’ Zac Veen continues making a splash — this time literally

Rockies Report, Game 122:

ROCKIES BOTTOM LINE: Rockies fans hoped Zac Veen would make a splash upon his promotion to the the major-league level earlier this week. Turns out, it was more than metaphorical.

ZAC VEEN SPLASH HIT 💦 pic.twitter.com/e21T0eHGZw

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 15, 2026

Veen’s second home run in as many games in the lineup this week saw him launch a low Landen Roupp curveball 406 feet into McCovey Cove, putting Colorado in front 4-1 en route to a 5-2 series-opening win over the San Francisco Giants on Friday night.

Veen stacked onto a lead built in the fourth inning on a Troy Johnston RBI triple and another run in the fifth scored when Brett Sullivan’s leadoff double helped lead to a run, as a pair of groundouts moved Sullivan around the bases to put Colorado in front to stay.

Sullivan went 2-for-4 and scored in the ninth on a Willi Castro sacrifice fly.

Meanwhile, Kyle Freeland silenced San Francisco’s bats as he earned his fourth win, pitching eight innings before handing the baton to reliever Brennan Bernardino. Freeland earned his fourth win of the season — including his second of the month.

The Rockies have won three consecutive games and are now 4-3 on their nine-game road trip.

Colorado improved to 49-73. With 40 games remaining, the Rox need to win only 14 of them — a .350 winning percentage — to avoid the club’s fourth-straight 100-loss season.

ROCKIES STARTER’S REPORT

Freeland went deep for the second time in his last three starts, having gone nine innings in his start one day before the trade deadline.

Friday night, he kept his pitch count and baserunners down. He ended the eighth inning having thrown 95 pitches, with infrequent strikeouts — two — and plenty of ground-ball outs — 12, to be precise.

BITS AND PIECES

IT WAS DECIDED FOR THE ROCKIES WHEN: Center fielder Cole Carrigg made a diving catch of a Bryce Eldridge looper in the ninth inning, then threw to second base to record a double play, as Rafael Devers had taken off thinking Carrigg wouldn’t get to the ball. Devers had followed Jonah Cox’s leadoff triple with an RBI double, thus at the time putting the tying run in the on-deck circle.

NUMBER TO NOTE: 1.762 — Veen’s OPS over his first two major-league games this season.

WHAT’S NEXT: It’ll be Michael Lorenzen and Logan Webb getting the ball for the second game of the series. First pitch is set for 2:05 p.m. MDT.

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