Colorado Rockies game no. 143 thread: Kyle Freeland vs Dylan Cease

The Colorado Rockies fell to a Chicago White Sox squad that’s been playing with purpose under Miguel Cairo. Said White Sox are 10-4 since Cairo took over as acting manager for the embattled Tony La Russa. Last night the Rockies were stymied by the excellent pitching of Michael Kopech and the Sox bullpen, and they face an even tougher challenge today.

Dylan Cease will be starting for the White Sox. Cease is the genuine ace of the boys from the South Side. An American League Cy Young candidate, Cease has an ERA of 2.06 and has the second most strikeouts in the AL—fourth most league-wide—at 206 over his 162 innings of pitching this season. This will be Cease’s first appearance facing the Rockies, but with how he has pitched this season—and how poorly the Rockies perform on the road—there is nothing to suggest he won’t be up to the task.

Cease’s pitching arsenal is headlined by an absolutely brutal one-two punch of a slider and four seam fastball. The slider sits in the high 80s for velocity with strong breaking action and a devastating 46.1% whiff rate. The four seamer averages 96.9 MPH with a 24% whiff rate. He controls his fastball well, but frequently uses it at the top of the strike zone. If this combination doesn’t get you, he also has a curveball with huge downward break and a 29.8% whiff rate, and a strong changeup with a 34.5$ whiff rate.

The Rockies starting pitcher will be the southpaw Kyle Freeland. Like most members of the Rockies rotation, it’s been a bumpy season for Freeland. He currently has an ERA of 4.63 over his 27 starts and 153 ²⁄₃ innings of work. He is the only member of the rotation with an ERA below 5.00 while having the second most innings pitched of all starters. Freeland is coming off an excellent six innings of work his last time out, in which he tied a season high with eight strikeouts while only giving up one earned run and two total hits against the Milwaukee Brewers.

First Pitch: 12:10 AM MDT

TV: AT&T Sports Net Rocky Mountain; MLB.tv

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Lineups: