September 14 – The Colorado Rockies have been eliminated from the playoffs, but they are doing their best to hurt teams hoping to make the playoffs.
The Rockies beat the resurgent Detroit Tigers on Thursday before posting a dramatic 9-5 win over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night. If Chicago wants to play in October, they have very little wiggle room.
The Cubs (75-72) will have a chance to get back into shape when they face the Rockies in the second game of a three-game series on Saturday night. Chicago will field right-hander Jameson Taillon (10-8, 3.57 ERA) against Colorado left-hander Kyle Freeland (5-7, 4.97).
The Cubs have a chance to beat out the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves for the final wild card spot in the National League, with both teams winning Friday night. Chicago is six games behind New York in the race for the final playoff spot with 15 games remaining.
“Math is math,” Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson told The Athletic. “But it has nothing to do with what we want to accomplish. Everybody clearly knows what needs to happen. We’re not idiots. But it doesn’t dictate our mindset every game.
“We’re here to win baseball games.”
Chicago needs a big performance from Taillon, who will make his 26th start of the season. He didn’t play against the Rockies when the two teams met in April, but he is familiar with the club. He has made four career starts against Colorado and is 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA.
The Rockies (56-92) looked like they would easily lose 100 games for the second consecutive season as they started 2024 with an 8-28 record. They fared better in the second half of the year and went 4-5 on their recently concluded road trip to Detroit.
Colorado can avoid 100 losses by splitting its final 14 games, and Freeland could help them perform well again. The Denver native has played well since coming off the 60-day injured list in late June despite battling a blister on his left little finger.
That forced him to sit out several games, including his final game on Sunday at Milwaukee after going five innings. He won 4-1, giving up just one unearned point.
“We were able to repair it and put something on it to protect the skin from the nail and take some of the pressure off,” Freeland said.
This has done little to deter his upward trajectory since becoming active.
“My body and my mechanics feel really good. Exactly in line with all of that,” Freeland said. “Ever since I’ve been back from Illinois, my mechanics have been very healthy, exactly where I wanted them to be, and I’ve had great results.”
He hopes to continue moving in that direction in his seventh career start against the Cubs. He is 1-4 with a 6.34 ERA in six career appearances, including four starts at home.
–Visual-level media
