Off Topic » The Rockies are 16-9 in starts by Freeland

DENVER — Colorado Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland Frank White Jersey , who has been dominant at Coors Field, will take the mound Thursday in the rubber game against the San Diego Padres.who is 7-2 with a 2.22 ERA in 11 home starts this season and will be opposed by rookie left-hander Joey Lucchesi (6-7, 3.79).Freeland has thrown 152 innings, close to the 156 he finished with as a rookie last year. But at this point last season, Freeland was wilting from the rigors of his first season in the majors. After Sept. 11, he made four relief appearances and one start, a three-inning effort in his final game of the season. Article continues below ...Freeland said experience has certainly been helpful this year. But he attributes his added strength and stamina to an offseason mechanical change and an altered throwing program.“The change in the mechanics helped not take so much of a toll on my body like my mechanics last year did,” said Freeland, who still pauses in his delivery when lifting his front leg but in a more efficient manner.“The hestitation’s more at the top,” he said, “where I can keep my load instead of de-loading and then trying to make a pitch and then keep that load and drive down the mound. And that’s taking less of a toll off trying to de-load and then trying to get it all back using my arm and my legs as much as I can.”Freeland said he changed his weightlifting programs to boost his stamina. And he has cut back on his throwing.“Since the All-Star break, every day after my start, I haven’t thrown,” he said. “I just take a day (off) http://www.royalsfanproshop.com/authentic-ryan-goins-jersey , and then I’ll have my bullpen (session) the next day. This year, it’s much lighter every single day, just not stretching it out because I know how long the season is. There’s no reason to try and build arm strength in season because you’re going to get tired. “All season it’s been lighter throwing in between starts. Not throwing a lot of flat grounds or having long bullpens. Kept my bullpens short most of the year and really shortened them up after the All-Star break.”Freeland is 3-1, 1.72 in his past five starts, allowing one homer in 31 1/3 innings in that stretch. On Friday at Atlanta, he allowed three hits and one run in six innings and was the winner in Colorado’s 11-5 triumph. He’s 1-1 with a 2.92 ERA in two starts against the Padres this year and 1-2, 4.21 in six career games (four starts) against them.Lucchesi will be making his 20th career start and fourth against the Rockies. He held them to four hits and two unearned runs in six innings April 10 while winning his Coors Field debut 5-2, and he is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA against Colorado in three starts this season. In his last outing Friday against Arizona, Lucchesi lost 9-4, allowing a career-high nine hits and five runs in four innings. That matched the shortest outing of his career. Lucchesi, whose herky-jerky motion with his hands makes for an unusual delivery, has pitched six innings three times — on April 15 against San Francisco and Aug. 12 against Philadelphia in addition to his April 10 outing at Coors Field. Lucchesi is 2-2, with a 2.87 ERA in six road starts and 4-5, 4.26 in 13 starts at home. “I think for the longest time we’ve given Joey the opportunity to just go pitch and not overwhelm him with information,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “This is the time to start taking information in on what we’d like him to change and how we’d like him to grow. And I think he’s responded to that very well right now. And I’m excited about that, because that ultimately will be the determining factor to how great you’re going to be is http://www.royalsfanproshop.com/authentic-ryan-goins-jersey , can you grow?“I think he’s handled this year great. There’s been ups and downs. He’s been through injuries. He’s been through some struggles that way. I think he’s handled it well.” DETROIT (AP) — When David Bote’s two-run homer cleared the fence in the fifth inning, it felt almost like a milestone for the Chicago Cubs — the first time in six games they’d scored more than one run.“Whatever it was, was broken at that point,” manager Joe Maddon said. “That was broken. It was good to move it forward from there.”Bote’s drive was the first of three homers by the Cubs in an 8-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night. Chicago had scored exactly one run in each of its previous five games, but even so, the victory Wednesday gave the Cubs a 3-3 mark on the road trip they were wrapping up.Jon Lester (14-5) allowed a run and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. Five Chicago relievers finished. Pedro Strop came in with the bases loaded in the eighth and walked in a run, but he retired James McCann on a grounder to end that threat with the Cubs still up 4-2.Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo hit consecutive homers in the ninth for Chicago to break the game open. Baez’s drive, a three-run shot, was his 26th of the year.“They put some balls in the seats. You knew they could do that,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “That’s a very talented group who can do a lot of things. We matched up with them as best we could, and we fought hard, but you can’t always expect to beat them.”Francisco Liriano (3-9) allowed four runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.Daniel Murphy singled home a run in the fifth in his first game with the Cubs after being acquired in a trade from Washington on Tuesday.Lester, who pitched six innings in a 1-0 win over Pittsburgh last Thursday, was sharp again in Detroit. He allowed an RBI single to Ronny Rodriguez in the second, but that was all the scoring against him for the Tigers.“Lester can move that cutter around, and that makes him tough Alcides Escobar Jersey ,” Detroit infielder Niko Goodrum said. “He can make it move in on you or use it as a backdoor pitch. We had chances, but we didn’t take advantage.”Liriano didn’t get out of the second inning in his previous start, but he blanked Chicago for the first four innings before running into trouble in the fifth. The first six Chicago hitters of that inning reached base, and Bote’s drive put the Cubs up 2-1, snapping an 0-for-16 drought for the Chicago third baseman.Murphy added his RBI single, although a baserunning blunder by Willson Contreras and a double-play grounder by Rizzo helped Liriano escape the inning with only three runs in.Contreras hit an RBI infield single in the sixth to make it 4-1.The NL Central-leading Cubs snapped a three-game losing streak.STRONG DEBUTMurphy started at second base and hit leadoff for the Cubs. He went 2 for 5, driving in a run in the fifth and scoring on Baez’s homer.“Love the guy. I mean, baseball rat, just like us,” Bote said. “Talked to him a little bit there in the ninth inning, kind of just scratching the surface of hitting and approach, and what he’s got. I’m so excited he’s with us.”TRAINER’S ROOMCubs: Chicago put SS Addison Russell on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to Monday, with a sprained left middle finger.Tigers: LHP Daniel Norris (left groin strain) made a rehab start with Class A Lakeland on Tuesday night at Daytona, throwing three innings.UP NEXTCubs: Chicago starts a four-game home series against Cincinnati on Thursday night. Cole Hamels (3-0) takes the mound for the Cubs against Anthony DeSclafani (6-3).Tigers: Detroit opens a four-game set against the visiting Chicago White Sox on Thursday. Matthew Boyd (7-11) takes the mound for the Tigers against James Shields (5-14).