Colorado Rockies game no. 20: Jake Irvin vs Kyle Freeland

The Rockies will try to replicate their offensive production in the first game of a doubleheader

The Rockies and Nationals had an explosive first game of their series on Friday night, as the visitors edged the home team by a slim 12-11 margin.

Colorado’s lineup will do their best to produce similar offensive results when they stack up against Washington on Saturday. To do so, they’ll need to figure out Jake Irvin (1-0, 3.91 ERA), who’s fresh off the heels of an excellent outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Irvin’s pitched fairly well for the Nats thus far this season, and his lone prior appearance at Coorsn Field was a productive one. Still, he’s proven to be susceptible to allowing runs early in his starts, so doing damage in the game’s initial innings will be crucial to the Rockies’ efforts. They’ve hit him hard before and will need to do so again to gain an edge in Saturday’s afternoon affair.

Those same Rockies will counter with Kyle Freeland (0-3, 4.88 ERA). Freeland has made four starts this season, and each has seen him labor more intensely throughout. Luckily, the Colorado native has strong career results against the Nationals, owning a sparkling 2.05 ERA in his nine previous contests against Washington.

Freeland continues to attack the strike zone and be stingy in allowing walks, which should serve him well against a team that owns one of the lower BABIP marks in the National League. He’ll do well to limit the damage from players like James Wood (who went 3-for-4 with four RBI in yesterday’s loss) and Dylan Crews (3-for-5, also 4 RBI) as he looks to secure his first win of the 2025 campaign.

The Rockies hope that Mickey Moniak will continue to bring life to their offense. After going 2-for-3 with a walk and four RBI, including a home run, in yesterday’s loss, Moniak now has hits in each of his last four contests. He’s also homered in back-to-back games.

First Pitch: 1:10 MDT

TV: Rockies TV

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

Lineups: