Sloppy Rockies hammered by Tigers in Game 1 of doubleheader

Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post on May 8, 2025

Published in Baseball

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DENVER — Following the Colorado Rockies’ 10-2 Game 1 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Thursday afternoon, left-handed starter Kyle Freeland was emotional.

And when asked to compare what the reeling Rockies are doing to turn things around versus what teams such as the Tigers and Royals have done, he was blunt.

“What they’re doing is right, what we’re doing is wrong,” he said. “And we’re not winning baseball games. We’re playing a bad brand of baseball, all the way around. Pitching, fielding, hitting.”

Here is an example of Colorado’s bad brand of baseball in four snapshots:

— Second baseman Adael Amador whiffed on his throw back into the infield in Detroit’s two-run first inning and was charged with an error.

— Shortstop Alan Trejo muffed Zach McKinstry’s grounder for another error in the Tigers’ five-run second.

— Catcher Hunter Goodman allowed a throw to home to scoot under his glove for Colorado’s third error in the Tigers’ two-run third.

— Freeland displayed his frustration via his body language on an afternoon when he was rocked for nine runs (five earned) on 11 hits in three innings.

Freeland said the mistakes behind him were not what fed his frustration.

“I was frustrated myself,” he said. “I wasn’t making pitches.”

Colorado’s sloppy performance in the first game of a doubleheader at Coors Field led to its fifth straight loss and 30th of the season — against just six wins. The Rockies’ .167 winning percentage has them on pace to finish 27-135.

It’s hard to imagine they will play this poorly for the entire season, but the Rockies are in a very hard place right now. Their defense and pitching were bad on Thursday, and their offense was AWOL against Detroit right-hander Casey Mize.

Mize gave up one run on three hits, struck out eight and walked none over six innings. At one point, Mize set down 13 in a row.

Colorado’s lone run came off Mize in the fifth on a one-out single by Nick Martini, a double to left by Mickey Moniak, and a sacrifice fly by Trejo. The sunsplashed crowd responded with a sarcastic LoDo Cheer.

Detroit pounded 14 hits while the Rockies had four, including a triple by Jordan Beck in the ninth that became the Rockies’ second run on a sacrifice fly by Hunter Goodman.

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