DENVER -- Kyle Freeland was outstanding the last time he thought he was throwing his last pitches for the Rockies -- his hometown team and his only team in a 10-season Major League career.
On Aug. 2, the eve of the Trade Deadline, Freeland -- having acknowledged that he could be dealt -- threw his first career complete game, a five-hit, 8-1 victory over the Royals.
A deal didn’t happen. Now it’s one more time for a possible last home hurrah. Freeland will open the Rockies’ final home series, Tuesday night against the Diamondbacks. His five-year, $64.5 million contract expires at season’s end.
“The past month or so, I've been making sure that you know I'm soaking in everything I possibly can, not knowing what the future holds for me,” Freeland said. “Things really haven't set in yet. I'm sure on Tuesday they will, a little bit more.
“It’s going to be one of those days that I'm going to make sure that I try to soak in every single moment, remember every moment and be so grateful for the opportunity that was presented to me with this organization. And again, don't know what the future holds for me and this organization together. But I'm going to make sure to do this on a special day.”
During what could be a long goodbye, Freeland has pitched well when healthy. Two outings after his standout start against the Royals, he threw eight four-hit, one-run innings against the Giants on Aug. 14. Freeland sustained a pinched nerve in his neck during an outing against the Dodgers on Aug. 19.
When he returned last Tuesday, he went four innings on a tight pitch count and gave up three runs against the Padres. Righty Ryan Feltner, who potentially could follow him Tuesday night, finished with five scoreless innings in a 9-3 Rockies victory.
Freeland heads into the start with these rankings in club history in terms of home performance:
• Starts: 1st, 128
• Innings pitched: 1st, 687
• Strikeouts: 1st, 538
• Wins: 2nd, 40
Emotion has been a friend of Freeland, who was a part of postseason rotations in 2017 and 2018 (when he finished fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting). His goal is to make sure emotion doesn’t turn against him.
“I think I'm just going to try and, you know keep my focus on the task at hand, but also ... it's a special day for me and the end of the season,” he said. “I’ll hopefully be able to keep fundamentals in check as much as possible.”