DENVER — A few innings went by before the ballpark began to fill on a slightly chilled, but spectacularly bright early-April, home-opening afternoon.
Rockies fans learned on Day 1 of the 2023 home season that to be a few minutes late is to miss a significant chunk of the game, if not necessarily the action.
Behind a gem twirled by Colorado-raised starting pitcher Kyle Freeland, sensational defense by left fielder Jurickson Profar, a routine flyball lost in the sun by Washington right fielder Lane Thomas, and an impressive one-inning save by Colorado-raised closer Pierce Johnson, the Rockies won their home opener, 1-0, here Thursday before a late-arriving sellout crowd of 48,230.
"One of my favorite terms is when a pitcher twirls a gem,'' said Rockies manager Buddy Black, who may or may not have had a sneak peek at the 9NEWS running game story.
The Rockies improved to 3-4 in the young season while the abysmal Nationals slipped to 1-6 in a game that took just 2 hours, 18 minutes.
Thanks to three new rules implemented by Major League Baseball this year, games are zipping along at a much faster pace. The crowd may have noticed larger-sized bases, a 20-second time clock between pitches and no positional shift.
"With the pitch clock you're going to see games like today where it's well-pitched, very few walks and it's going to move,'' Black said. "And if you're out on Blake Street, you're on Wazee having one more, you're going to miss a couple innings. ... That one more might have to be a little bit earlier."
Here's to the bright Colorado sun.
"It'll get ya,'' said Washington manager Dave Martinez.
Rockies rookie shortstop and No. 9 hitter Ezequiel Tovar led off the bottom of the fifth with a lazy fly ball to right. Washington’s Lane Thomas was under it and was ready to make the catch when the natural human reaction to blindness caused him to bail at the last second as the ball fell through the heart of the bright sun and safely on the outfield grass.
"He called for it, had it all the way,'' Martinez said. "It just got caught up right in the middle of the sun."
Tovar was credited with a double -- much to the dismay of Washington starting pitcher Josiah Gray, who otherwise pitched well – and scored one out later on a single to left center by Kris Bryant. Injured most of last season when he made $18 million, Bryant is off to an encouraging start in 2023 as his salary balloons to $28 million. He had two hits in this game and is now batting .357.
It was Profar who kept the Nationals scoreless until Freeland found his groove. With a runner on first and one out, Profar made a leaping catch in the first inning just below the yellow line in left field to rob Jeimer Candelario of a possible run-scoring extra-base hit – and the fan who stretched his glove over the wall and just missed the catch.
Profar delivered an encore in the second inning when he made a full-out diving catch to his left to steal a hit from Luis Garcia. Profar also made a running, falling catch in the fifth but by then Freeland didn’t need much help.
"Incredible defense by Profar,'' Freeland said.
Six years after he pitched six solid innings in the home opener as a rookie to beat the Dodgers, Freeland had a 3-hit shutout through six innings against the Nationals with five strikeouts. He got two more outs in the seventh before he was pulled with a runner on first.
In two starts this season, Freeland is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 12 2/3 innings. Justin Lawrence came in and got an easy tap back to him for the final out, then pitched a scoreless eighth, stranding two runners.
Pierce Johnson was brought in for the 9th inning and retired the side with two strikeouts to record his second save. A Colorado starter got the win, a Colorado closer got the save. A near perfect home opener for the Colorado baseball team in a game played swiftly beneath a bright Colorado sun.
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