The Rockies are 16-9 in starts by Freeland

DENVER — Colorado Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland Jacoby Ellsbury Jersey , who has been dominant at Coors Field, will take the mound Thursday in the rubber game against the San Diego Padres.who is 7-2 with a 2.22 ERA in 11 home starts this season and will be opposed by rookie left-hander Joey Lucchesi (6-7, 3.79).Freeland has thrown 152 innings, close to the 156 he finished with as a rookie last year. But at this point last season, Freeland was wilting from the rigors of his first season in the majors. After Sept. 11, he made four relief appearances and one start, a three-inning effort in his final game of the season. Article continues below ...Freeland said experience has certainly been helpful this year. But he attributes his added strength and stamina to an offseason mechanical change and an altered throwing program.“The change in the mechanics helped not take so much of a toll on my body like my mechanics last year did,” said Freeland, who still pauses in his delivery when lifting his front leg but in a more efficient manner.“The hestitation’s more at the top,” he said http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-don-mattingly-jersey , “where I can keep my load instead of de-loading and then trying to make a pitch and then keep that load and drive down the mound. And that’s taking less of a toll off trying to de-load and then trying to get it all back using my arm and my legs as much as I can.”Freeland said he changed his weightlifting programs to boost his stamina. And he has cut back on his throwing.“Since the All-Star break, every day after my start, I haven’t thrown,” he said. “I just take a day (off), and then I’ll have my bullpen (session) the next day. This year, it’s much lighter every single day, just not stretching it out because I know how long the season is. There’s no reason to try and build arm strength in season because you’re going to get tired. “All season it’s been lighter throwing in between starts. Not throwing a lot of flat grounds or having long bullpens. Kept my bullpens short most of the year and really shortened them up after the All-Star break.”Freeland is 3-1, 1.72 in his past five starts, allowing one homer in 31 1/3 innings in that stretch. On Friday at Atlanta, he allowed three hits and one run in six innings and was the winner in Colorado’s 11-5 triumph. He’s 1-1 with a 2.92 ERA in two starts against the Padres this year and 1-2, 4.21 in six career games (four starts) against them.Lucchesi will be making his 20th career start and fourth against the Rockies. He held them to four hits and two unearned runs in six innings April 10 while winning his Coors Field debut 5-2, and he is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA against Colorado in three starts this season. In his last outing Friday against Arizona Aroldis Chapman Jersey , Lucchesi lost 9-4, allowing a career-high nine hits and five runs in four innings. That matched the shortest outing of his career. Lucchesi, whose herky-jerky motion with his hands makes for an unusual delivery, has pitched six innings three times — on April 15 against San Francisco and Aug. 12 against Philadelphia in addition to his April 10 outing at Coors Field. Lucchesi is 2-2, with a 2.87 ERA in six road starts and 4-5, 4.26 in 13 starts at home. “I think for the longest time we’ve given Joey the opportunity to just go pitch and not overwhelm him with information,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “This is the time to start taking information in on what we’d like him to change and how we’d like him to grow. And I think he’s responded to that very well right now. And I’m excited about that, because that ultimately will be the determining factor to how great you’re going to be is, can you grow?“I think he’s handled this year great. There’s been ups and downs. He’s been through injuries. He’s been through some struggles that way. I think he’s handled it well.” ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mike Trout couldn’t play on his 27th birthday, thanks to a sore right wrist.Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels made sure the fans in the giveaway T-shirts bearing Trout’s uniform No. 27 still went home in a celebratory mood.Ohtani hit a three-run homer during a seven-run first inning, and the Angels pounded out 13 hits in an 11-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday.Trout missed his sixth consecutive game with an injury that will sideline him at least until Friday during the second-longest injury absence of his career — but for one night Didi Gregorius Jersey , his teammates didn’t miss the two-time AL MVP’s peerless bat at the Big A. Rookie catcher Francisco Arcia had a two-run single during their first-inning outburst after Detroit scored two runs in its half of the first.“You like to get right back into the game after you give up a few early, and we carried some momentum there in the first,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “Shohei’s homer was a huge hit at the time.”With Trout sidelined, Ohtani moved up to third in the order — and he didn’t disappoint. His 411-foot drive to the opposite field was his third homer in August, and he added a single for his third multihit performance in five games.“I may look like I’m taking easy swings in my at-bats, but I’m swinging pretty hard,” Ohtani said through a translator. “I haven’t really changed my approach. Back when I was in Japan, that was one of my strengths, going to the opposite field.”Justin Upton later added a two-run homer during Los Angeles’ second straight win over Detroit. The Angels haven’t lost a home series to the Tigers since August 2009.Jeimer Candelario hit a two-run homer in the fifth and drove in three runs as the Tigers emerged from their four-game offensive funk, but still dropped to 0-5 on their six-game California trip.The Angels’ first eight batters reached base with six hits, an error and a walk against Jacob Turner (0-1), who lasted just one inning in his first appearance for Detroit since 2012. Turner http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-greg-bird-jersey , a former Tigers prospect who returned on a minor league deal this season, struggled in the rotation spot opened by Mike Fiers’ trade to Oakland.“The big thing was he threw (37) pitches, and we didn’t make some plays,” Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Believe me, it’s not all on him. He took the beating for it … (but) we played sloppy baseball tonight.”Detroit scored just three runs over 40 innings in the first four games of its trip, but matched that total in two innings against Andrew Heaney (7-7). Candelario had an RBI double in the first inning, and JaCoby Jones added a run-scoring double in the second.Upton snapped a 0-for-15 slump with an infield single in the first. The former Tigers slugger added his 22nd homer in the sixth.HEANEY’S HIGHHeaney set a new career high with his seventh victory, but this one won’t go in the trophy case. He persevered through five rocky innings in his shortest home outing since April 20, yielding five runs and eight hits.“It’s nice to not pitch all that well and get a win,” Heaney said. “It’s nice for the team to get a win.”OUTSTANDING E.Y.Eric Young Jr. made an outstanding defensive play for the second straight night while filling Trout’s spot in center field. The veteran dived to catch James McCann’s sinking liner in the sixth and then made a precise throw to double up Ronny Rodriguez at first.TIME TO THROWOhtani got more good news before the game when the Angels announced the rookie will throw a bullpen session Saturday in the next step in his return from a sprained elbow ligament.“I’ve been waiting for this day,” Ohtani said. “I’ve been very eager to get back on the mound.”ROOKIE RIBBIESArcia’s bases-loaded single gave him 12 RBIs in his first three home starts. That’s a record for any player in the first three home starts of a major league career since RBIs became an official stat in 1920, according to STATS LLC.TRAINER’S ROOMTigers: Blaine Hardy will take another start in the rotation Wednesday in place of Michael Fulmer Dellin Betances Jersey , who is still recovering from an oblique strain at Detroit’s spring training complex in Florida.Angels: Nick Tropeano was placed on the disabled list for the third time this season with right shoulder stiffness. The right-hander threw five innings of one-hit ball Monday against Detroit, but was pulled after just 62 pitches.UP NEXTTigers: Hardy (4-3, 3.25 ERA) got a no-decision last week despite throwing seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball against Oakland, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He has faced the Angels six times in his career, but in relief each time.Angels: Jaime Barria (6-7, 3.84 ERA) makes the 17th start of his steady rookie season. He got a no-decision last week in Cleveland after throwing five solid innings.