Kyle Freeland’s changeup was big problem in Rockies’ historic loss to Diamondbacks

PHOENIX — The Rockies claim they don’t have a hangover from Thursday night’s 16-1 loss to the Diamondbacks, but there were lessons learned for starter Kyle Freeland.

Lesson No. 1: Find a way to throw a more effective changeup, which the left-hander hopes will be a big weapon for him this season.

To recap the season opener at Chase Field, Freeland was ripped for 10 runs on 10 hits in just 2 1/3 innings, including a two-run homer to Lourdes Gurriel in the first inning. The 10 runs Freeland surrendered were a career-high. The third inning was 34 minutes of batting practice for the D-backs, who sent 18 batters to the plate and scored 14 runs, the most in an inning on opening day for any team since 1900. Freeland was charged with eight runs in the inning, and rookie reliever Anthony Molina was charged with six.

Freeland acknowledged his poor pitch location but credited Arizona’s aggressive hitters.

“They put the ball in play,” Freeland said Thursday night. “That’s what hitters are paid to do — put the ball in play, create action on the basepaths — a lot of singles, and/or doubles, balls hit soft, seeing-eye ground balls. It was just everything that they were hitting.”

Before Friday’s game, manager Bud Black said that a video review of Freeland’s career-worst performance revealed some clues as to what went wrong.

“I suspected that there were some locations missed, and that was the case,” Black said. “If I was going to pick on any particular pitch, I would think that the changeup was a bit too hard. There were some 88 and 89 mph changeups. The (Christian) Walker double, 89. The (Ketel) Marte groundball up the middle that (shortstop) Ezequiel (Tovar) almost had, 88. During spring training, Kyle was trying to get the changeup down to 85-86.”

Freeland changed the grip on his changeup during the offseason and said during spring training that he was getting comfortable with the pitch. He admitted, however, that the changeup can be problematic for him.

“That changeup has always been a pitch that’s kind of been a bugaboo,” he said during camp. “You find it, then you lose it and you’re searching for it again. My confidence is definitely back on that pitch.”

Maybe so, but command of all of his pitches deserted him Thursday night.

“Last night, (there was a lot of) adrenaline, his arm felt good, an extra day’s rest — all of those things,” Black said. “The changeup was just coming in too hot. Too much velocity. And the location of all of his pitchers was not Kyle-like.”