Kyle Freeland’s loudest out Saturday was a punch. Two on, two out in the sixth in a one-run game. The 23-year-old left-hander, an anchor in the Rockies’ rookie-heavy rotation, threw a sinkerball to strike out a Giants threat, whiffing pinch-hitter Brandon Belt.
“Big at-bat, he got him,” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “Thing about the strikeout is, the ball doesn’t leave the field.”
But neither do groundballs. Freeland forced 15 groundballs among the 22 the Giants put in play Saturday in the Rockies’ 5-1 victory, a rate by which the Denver native is conquering Coors Field.