Rockies bat around in ninth for comeback win over Guardians in series opener

Kyle Newman, The Denver Post on Jul 29, 2025

Published in Baseball

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Tyler Freeman wants Cleveland to know that Colorado won the trade.

Freeman, dealt from the Guardians to the Rockies for Nolan Jones in March, came up clutch in his return to Progressive Field in Monday’s series opener. The designated hitter had two hits and three RBIs, including the game-winning single in the top of the ninth as the Rockies put up four in the frame for an 8-6 comeback win.

“They were the enemy today, and it was fun putting it to them,” Freeman told Rockies TV.

The rally, punctuated by Freeman’s first career go-ahead RBI in the ninth inning or later, erased a disastrous seventh inning in which the Rockies turned a 3-0 lead into a 5-3 deficit in a matter of 15 minutes.

“That was a big-time character win for the boys,” interim manager Warren Schaeffer told reporters. “To be down 3-0, then go down 5-3, and then keep going those last two innings with some really good at-bats, with some small-ball getting the job done — that’s a huge character win.”

Prior to the Rockies’ rise from the canvas, starter Bradley Blalock put the club in a great position with a career-best outing. The right-hander threw six shutout innings, with seven strikeouts.

And beyond Freeman, rookie Warming Bernabel and catcher Hunter Goodman each had a homer and a double. Those two hitters underscored how the Rockies’ offense, which has consistently wilted in clutch moments this season, did the opposite on Monday.

After a two-and-a-half-hour rain delay pushed the game back, Blalock took the mound and delivered. He scattered six hits and had zero walks, while the Rockies offense did its part early to give him some cushion.

“I saw him commanding the ball, and I saw his changeup being really good tonight and being a difference-maker against a left-handed (dominant) lineup,” Schaeffer said.

Freeman, who entered the game ranked fourth in the majors in average at .302 among players with at least 200 plate appearances, continued his consistent season by driving in the Rockies’ first two runs. Freeman hit a sacrifice fly off Slade Cecconi in the third, then singled home another run in the fifth for a 2-0 Rockies advantage.

Then in the sixth, Bernabel took Cecconi deep 386 feet to left field. Bernabel, who debuted on Saturday in Baltimore, became the fifth Rockies player ever with two or more homers in his first three MLB games.

But the Rockies watched that 3-0 lead go up in smoke in the seventh.

Jake Bird, one of the best relievers in baseball through June, continued his recent fall-off. Bird ballooned his July ERA to 19.91 in nine games by walking two batters, then giving up a pinch-hit homer to Josh Naylor and another single before being pulled. The Guardians plated two more runs off Vodnik before he finally got the Rockies out of the jam.

But just when it appeared that Colorado was headed toward another letdown loss, the offense roared back.

Goodman hit his 19th homer of the season in the eighth off Hunter Gaddis, cutting the deficit to 5-4. Then came the fireworks in the final frame as the Rockies batted around to win the game. Cleveland was without its closer, Emmanuel Clase, who was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave earlier in the day as part of an MLB investigation into sports gambling.

The red-hot Bernabel started the frame against Cade Smith with a ground-rule double to left. The next pitch, Brenton Doyle laid down a sacrifice punt that Smith threw away down the right-field line, scoring Bernabel. After Smith drilled Kyle Farmer, Freeman delivered an RBI single to right that swung the lead back to Colorado, 6-5.

Freeman was pumped up going back into the dugout after the hit, doling out aggressive high-fives and hyping up his teammates with some yelling.

“We didn’t quit, and we kept picking each other up,” Freeman said.

Freeman’s knock ended Smith’s night, but not the damage. With Tim Herrin in, the Rockies added on with Mikey Moniak’s sacrifice fly and then Goodman’s RBI double to make it 8-5. Seth Halvorsen finished the game off with the save, yielding an RBI single to Jones before striking out Brayan Rocchio to end it.

Colorado improved to 28-78 with one of its better victories in a historically futile season. The Rockies are on pace for 120 losses, one short of the modern-day loss record of 121 set by last year’s White Sox.

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