The Denver Gazette

The Rockies score on five runs off Max Scherzer, but fall on Max Muncy’s home run in the 10th inning.

BY DANIELLE ALLENTUCK

Even out pitching a future hall of famer wasn’t enough for the Rockies.

In most cases, if a starting pitcher out-performs his counterpart, his team goes on to win. That wasn’t the case on Thursday, as the Dodgers beat the Rockies 7-5 in 10 innings. The Dodgers, who entered Thursday a game behind the Giants, took two out of three at Coors Field.

It was Max Muncy who broke the tie in the top of the 10th, hitting the first pitch from rookie Lucas Gilbreath into dead center. Gilbreath, who pitched his 17th straight scoreless inning the night before, gave up his first runs since Aug. 8.

The matchup of the day was Kyle Freeland against Max Scherzer, who recently surpassed 3,000 career strikeouts. Freeland said his intensity is the same regardless of who he’s pitching against, but even he could admit that he was a little extra amped to be playing Scherzer.

Scherzer gave up five runs, double the amount he’s allowed since he was traded to the Dodgers at the end of July.

Freeland, on the other hand, was only plunked for three.

Freeland has faced the Dodgers over a dozen times in his career, going 3-7 with a 4.06 ERA against them. But this lineup presents a new level of challenges. The majority of their batters hit near .300, and there is no easy out.

Freeland knew going into this game that he needed to use all of his pitches in order to keep batters on their toes. He did just that, and his fastball and curveball were his best pitches. His backdoor slider and change-up were also helpful.

The Dodgers worked him hard in the first two innings, and Freeland needed 46 pitches to get through. He gave up all three runs in that second, and manager Bud Black admitted that he started to get concerned about Freeland. But he hit his stride after that, not giving up another run.

“It was a gusty effort to get through the first couple innings,” manager Bud Black said. ‘He competed right there with Scherzer. Two great competitors. It was a great matchup.”

Freeland was frustrated by some of the calls, including a few that extended innings. But a visit from Black in the third calmed him down, and he said he started to channel that energy into his pitching.

“I was probably a couple choice words away from being sent out of that game,” Freeland said.

Scherzer, on the other hand, has not been a fan of Coors Field in the past, This outing likely added to the discourse, and his career ERA at Coors is now 6.39. He said that he couldn’t get a grip on the ball.

“Sometimes when you get punched in the face, that’s what it takes to learn something new,” Scherzer said.

The Rockies were shut down in the first, but they scored off a RBI double from Sam Hilliard in the second. Then Kyle Freeland drove in two more runs with a single.

Raimel Tapia notched two more runs off Scherzer in the fifth, hitting his sixth home run of the season and first since May 21. He’s struggled since coming back from the injured list, going 8 for 51 since Aug. 30.

“Scherzer is one of the best, he’s been doing it for a long time,” Tapia said. “Hitting a home run off him, it feels really good.”

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2021-09-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-09-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://daily.denvergazette.com/article/282136409558065

The Gazette, Colorado Springs