For 13 innings this weekend, the Colorado Rockies looked quite capable of competing with the New York Yankees.
Then, everything unraveled.
The Yankees scored 10 times in the fifth inning Saturday afternoon — a comprehensive collapse for the home side in a 13-1 loss in front of 43,186 at Coors Field.
Fourteen batters came to the plate in the top of the fifth. The Yankees collected seven hits and three walks while dropping Colorado to 9-43.
Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland was officially charged with four unearned runs in the inning, but all seven he allowed were of his making. The key play that broke things open was an error on Freeland after he threw the ball down the right field line trying to get Trent Grisham on a ground ball between him and first base.
The Yankees did all of that damage while Aaron Judge was limited to an intentional walk and a strikeout. There was the Freeland error, a wild pitch from reliever Angel Chivilli and second baseman Adael Amador’s glove flying high into Colorado’s thin air after a line drive went over his head into the right-center gap.
Amador had a brief conversation with the second base umpire after the play. Had his glove hit the ball in play, it would have been an automatic three bases. Amador remained in the game.
Freeland’s final line, as he dropped to 0-7 on the season: Eight runs allowed on nine hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings.
For the second time in this series, Judge sent one into the outfield seats for a solo home run in the top of the first inning. But, as Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer noted with his club’s plan when pitching to the reigning AL MVP, having no one on base when he’s up is important.
At the time, that felt important. By the time Judge struck out as the 14th and final batter in the fifth, it had long become a moot point for this day.
Fried entered Saturday as the co-leader in the majors with four pick-offs, and he added two more in the first three innings. Jordan Beck and Aaron Schunk both singled off the Cy Young contender, but both were sent back to the dugout after Fried fooled them. Beck took off for second base, while Fried just froze Schunk.
The Rockies did solve the AL’s ERA leader for a run in the fourth. Ezequiel Tovar singled and advanced to second after Paul Goldschmidt mishandled another Fried pickoff attempt. Michael Toglia, who was out of the starting lineup the past three games, tripled into the right-center field gap to score Tovar.
By the time the Rockies were back in the dugout to face Fried again, the thought of back-to-back wins against the Yankees was gone. Fried pitched into the eighth, allowing the lone run on six hits and a walk. He improved to 7-0, and his ERA ended the day where it began at 1.29. The second-loudest ovation, behind Judge’s home run, came as Fried walked to the visitors’ dugout at the end of his outing.
The most disappointing moment of the day for another Yankees-heavy crowd came when Judge was replaced in the bottom of the eighth inning, depriving them of another chance to see him bat in the top of the ninth.
Pablo Reyes doubled in Judge’s place, collecting the 20th of the Yankees’ 21 hits.
The strong defense that helped Colorado claim a win Friday night also helped Freeland limit the damage in the early going. Judge’s league-leading 18th home run came after Trent Grisham grounded into a double play. The Rockies starter worked around a single and a walk in the second with the help of another double play.
Then the New York offense erupted, and it was all for naught.
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