Rockies snap eight-game skid thanks to Kyle Freeland’s gem

Rockies Report, Game 119:

ROCKIES BOTTOM LINE: Kyle Freeland went deeper into a game than he had in over seven years, lasting 7 1/3 shutout innings as he plowed through the St. Louis Cardinals to help the Rockies end an eight-game losing streak with a 3-0 win in front of a sparse Busch Stadium gathering of 20,807 on Tuesday night.

Victor Vodnik relieved Freeland and preserved his shutout with back-to-back strikeouts, the latter of which came when he gassed a 100-MPH fastball past a flailing Iván Herrera.

All of the offense Colorado needed came from catcher Hunter Goodman, who clubbed a Matthew Liberatore changeup deep into the left-field stands, giving the Rockies a 2-0 fourth-inning lead that held up.

Kyle Farmer delivered the third and final run of the game one inning later, driving home Brenton Doyle with an RBI single.

If you’re reading this, you’re watching the longest home run (442 ft) in this ballpark this year. pic.twitter.com/8a9vicVmcx

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 13, 2025

All of Colorado’s baserunners came in the fourth and fifth innings; the Rox went three up and three down in every other frame. But thanks to Freeland’s brilliance and Vodnik’s five-out work in earning his third save of the season, their two innings of work at the plate was plenty.

Rookie third baseman Kyle Karros shook off a hitless game Monday by going 1-for-3. Goodman, Farmer, Ezequiel Tovar and Tyler Freeman provided the Rockies’ other hits.

Colorado is 31-88.

ROCKIES STARTER’S REPORT

You have to go back to July 9, 2017 — the unforgettable day at Coors Field when Freeland took a no-hitter into the ninth inning before losing it with just two outs to go — for the last time that Freeland went so deep into a game.

But eight pitches and two batters into the game, there was no indication that would be the outcome. Brendan Donovan and Herrera led off the Cardinals’ night with singles, and it seemed as though the Rockies’ first-inning woes would continue.

“Early on, I was kind of fighting my mechanics a little bit,” Freeland told media after the game.

But three pitches later, Freeland got Willson Contreras to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. He escaped the threat two pitches later, returned to the dugout and made the corrections.

The corrections were swift and thorough; the Cardinals wouldn’t get another hit until the sixth inning.

Freeland walked Jordan Walker in the second inning, then erased him via a 4-6-3 double play. A second 6-4-3 twin killing helped neutralize a two-on, none-out threat in the sixth.

In the midst of one of the most frustrating seasons of his career — perhaps the most frustrating since the 2019 campaign in which he logged a career-worst 6.73 ERA — Freeland finally had all the answers, delivering a night that hearkened back to his salad days as the Rockies’ ace.

“I think that was the best start that we’ve had from anybody all season,” interim manager Warren Schaeffer told media after the win.

“… That’s what it looks like when Kyle’s really good.”

Freeland also hit the 900-career strikeout mark during the game. He improved to 3-12 on the season.

BITS AND PIECES

IT WAS DECIDED FOR THE ROCKIES WHEN: Vodnik recorded the back-to-back eighth-inning Ks with runners on first and second base, giving Freeland his first scoreless appearance since the regular-season opener at Tampa Bay on March 28. Freeland didn’t yield an earned run at Miami on June 4, but two unearned runs scored that day.

NUMBER TO NOTE: 2 — Shutouts this season for the Rockies, both of which came against the Cardinals.

WHAT’S NEXT: Austin Gomber faces his former team as he searches for his first win of the season. Michael McGreevy starts for the Cardinals. First pitch in the getaway-day series finale will be at 12:15 p.m. MDT.

Related

Former Rockies top prospect given another shot, breakout youngster hits ILKarros goes into concussion protocol, but not before his 2-run homer powers Rockies to winRockies call up former top prospect and first-rounder, who is tearing up Triple-ABiggest question with Walton-Penner’s Rockies ownership remainsRockies blasted in Arizona as old friend Arenado launches first-inning grand slamRockies get thunder from Hunter Goodman, but it’s not enough to avoid a series loss