Major League Baseball: Freeland leads Rockies to 1-0 win over Nats in home opener

Kyle Freeland pitched four-hit ball over 6 2/3 innings, Jurickson Profar made several nifty catches in left field and the Colorado Rockies won their home opener 1-0 over the Washington Nationals on Thursday.

Kris Bryant drove in the only run with a single in the fifth. It was the 12th 1-0 game in Denver — the 11th at Coors Field — and first since July 4, 2018, when Colorado beat San Francisco.

It was a quick game at Coors Field, too, taking 2 hours, 18 minutes. Last season’s home opener lasted 3:09.

Freeland (2-0), who is from Denver, struck out five and walked two before turning things over to the bullpen. Another Denver product, Pierce Johnson, pitched a perfect ninth for his second save.

Profar put on a fielding exhibition in left, beginning with his first-inning leaping grab at the wall. What added to the difficulty was fending off a fan’s glove that was reaching over for a souvenir.

He was far from done. He made a diving catch in the second and a long, running catch in the fifth.

Profar is still getting to know his surroundings after signing with Colorado on March 21. He is so new to Coors Field that he asked a clubhouse attendant before the game to point him in the direction of the batting cages.

It was an efficient bounce-back performance from Nationals starter Josiah Gray (0-2), who allowed one run over six innings against Colorado. In his first start, Gray surrendered five runs over five innings in a loss to Atlanta.

The sun played a role in the Rockies' only run. Right fielder Lane Thomas lost the ball in the glare, which resulted in a double by Ezequiel Tovar. Bryant brought him in with a liner to left.

The Nationals have dropped four straight.

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TRAINER’S ROOM

Nationals: OF Corey Dickerson (left calf strain) has started some light hitting in the cage. “He’s feeling better each and every day, which is a good sign,” manager Dave Martinez said. ... INF Carter Kieboom (right shoulder impingement) threw 25 times to bases Tuesday. “Now, it’s just the workload for him, getting through it every day,” Martinez explained. ... C Israel Pineda (right finger fracture) is going through various baseball activities except for hitting.

Rockies: RHP Antonio Senzatela (knee) is progressing to the point where he might soon throw in an extended spring training game. ... Manager Bud Black said OF Randal Grichuk (bilateral sports hernia) “continues to improve but again no timetable.”

UP NEXT

The Nationals will start lefty MacKenzie Gore (1-0, 1.69 ERA) against Colorado on Friday night. The Rockies will counter with righty José Ureña (0-1, 15.43).