Colorado Rockies game no. 45 thread: Merrill Kelly vs. Kyle Freeland

The Colorado Rockies (17-27) are back at Coors Field after a difficult Pennsylvania swing, opening a six-game homestand with a weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks (20-22). Colorado went 2-4 through Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and yesterday’s 7-2 loss to the Pirates came with a larger concern than the score: Chase Dollander left in the second inning and has now been placed on the 15-day injured list with an elbow strain. The bad news resulted in a series of roster moves, and Sterlin Thompson (No. 13 PuRP) is reportedly headed to Denver.

Colorado also enters this homestand trying to stop a May slide that has left them 3-9 on the month.

The third-place Diamondbacks are coming off a painful 6-5 walk-off loss to Texas on Wednesday, and the overall offensive production has been underwhelming. Still, they still have Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte, and former Rockie Nolan Arenado — who has a 118 wRC+ with six home runs on the year.

The Rockies are 8-11 with a .767 OPS at Coors Field and will turn to veteran lefty Kyle Freeland as they look to return to the win column.

Freeland enters at 1-4 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP, and his recent stretch since returning from the injured list has been uneven — 16 earned runs in 14 1/3 innings across three starts. Freeland is still getting hitters to chase, and he has done a good job limiting walks. The problem is that the contact has been too loud when opponents square him up, especially against the fastball.

Marte has hit Freeland hard, going 17-for-48 with three home runs and a 1.124 OPS against him.

Merrill Kelly takes the mound for Arizona, and his 2026 numbers have not been great. The veteran righty enters with a 7.62 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP through five starts, with hard contact and walks both showing up as problems. His four-seamer, changeup, and cutter have all been hit hard. But Kelly has been very good against Colorado over his career. In 17 starts against the Rockies, he is 9-3 with a 3.25 ERA, 102 strikeouts, and a 1.130 WHIP.

Ezequiel Tovar has had a brutal start to the season, but he has handled Kelly: .438 with two home runs in 16 at-bats.

A good night won’t fix all that. But a steady Freeland start, a few real swings against Kelly, and a win over a division opponent would be a great way to start the homestand.

Now for the details…

First Pitch: 6:40 PM MDT

TV: Rockies.TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Diamondbacks SB Nation site: AZ Snake Pit

Lineups: