What’s lost has been found. At least for one Thursday afternoon at San Diego’s Petco Park.
The Rockies’ Ryan McMahon had been searching for his swing, timing, and confidence. He discovered all three in Colorado’s 7-3 win over the Padres that halted a five-game losing streak.
McMahon hit a two-run double off Padres All-Star right-hander Joe Musgrove in the third and blasted a three-run homer off Musgrove in the fifth, tying a career-high with five RBIs. Entering Thursday’s game, McMahon had slashed .175/.261/.275 with one home run and three RBIs in 12 games since the All-Star break.
While the Rockies were in dire need of McMahon’s offense boost, they also needed a stopper if they were going to prevent the Padres from finishing off a rare five-game sweep. Left-hander Kyle Freeland, Colorado’s tenacious technician, was up for the challenge.
He outpitched Musgrove to win his third consecutive game. Freeland pitched 5 2/3 innings, yielding two runs on six hits, striking out seven, and walking four. Freeland threw 113 pitches, tied for the second-most pitches in a game in his career and his most since 2018.
Over his last three starts, Freeland owns a 2.41 ERA.
Colorado left fielder Sam Hilliard rescued Freeland in the second inning with a sensational catch that changed the game’s direction. After a single by Josh Bell, Brandon Drury stepped up to the plate.
In San Diego’s 9-1 victory over Colorado on Wednesday night, Drury, acquired by the Padres at Tuesday’s trade deadline, hit a grand slam on the first pitch he saw while wearing a Padres uniform.
Thursday, Drury blistered Freeland’s 0-1 changeup for what looked like a certain two-run homer. But Hilliard leaped at the wall and robbed Drury of the homer.
San Diego’s two runs off Freeland in the sixth started off in fluky fashion. Juan Soto led off and skied a flyball between center fielder Yonathan Daza and right fielder Charlie Blackmon. Both outfielders called for the ball, but both backed away at the last moment, giving Soto a soft triple. Josh Bell scored Soto with a single to right and Bell came around to score on singles by Will Myers and Austin Nola.
The Rockies, in the midst of playing 18 games in 17 days, open a three-game series at Arizona on Friday night.
