MLB Game Preview - San Francisco at Colorado

Sun Aug 4, 2019 3:10 PM EDT

When the San Francisco Giants walk out of Coors Field after Sunday's game, manager Bruce Bochy will have managed his last game in Denver.

The Colorado Rockies want to send him off with some disappointment in the finale of a three-game series.

Bochy announced before his 13th season on the bench for San Francisco that 2019 would be his last as a manager. Counting his 12 seasons with San Diego, he has 25 years under his belt, with four NL pennants and three World Series championships.

He will also have the distinction of having managed 214 games at Coors Field, the most by any opposing manager.

More importantly for him and the Giants is to keep pace in the National League wild-card race. San Francisco went 19-6 in July to get into the chase for one of the two spots, but August hasn't started as well. The Giants lost their first two games of the month before rallying to beat the Rockies 6-5 on Saturday night.

Bochy will send right-hander Tyler Beede (3-5, 5.01 ERA) to the mound for his 13th start of the season. He has faced the Rockies on one other occasion, allowing two runs in two innings of relief in Denver on May 9 while taking the loss in a 12-11 defeat.

Beede will match up against Colorado left-hander Kyle Freeland (2-9, 7.48), who has struggled this season after going 17-7 with a 2.84 ERA in 2018. His ERA was the lowest in a season for a starter in franchise history, and he finished fourth in the NL Cy Young Award voting.

After starting the season 2-6, Freeland was sent down to Triple-A Albuquerque to fix mechanical issues but still hasn't been able to find consistency. Since his return on July 13, he is 0-3 with an 8.66 ERA in four starts. His last outing, Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Freeland allowed eight runs (seven earned) and three homers in 3 2/3 innings.

He has fared well in his career against the Giants, going 5-3 with a 3.09 ERA in 10 starts. Six of those starts have come at home, where he is 4-1 with a 3.21 ERA.

The Rockies are trying to get back into the wild-card race after winning just six games in July. The task was made much tougher when outfielder David Dahl suffered a high right ankle sprain in Friday's win over San Francisco.

Dahl was placed on the 10-day injured list on Saturday and could miss several weeks.

"I ran after the ball, and it kind of cut on me, so I had to stop," Dahl said Saturday. "My cleat got caught, and I heard a pop. I didn't know if it was my knee, my ankle or my Achilles, so I was thinking the worst thing right there and all of the emotion kind of got to me. Glad it's just a high-ankle sprain. They can take a while if you don't let it heal. I'll do whatever I can to let it heal and get back."

The Giants are expected to have third baseman Evan Longoria back Sunday. Longoria has been out since July 15 with plantar fasciitis in his left foot.

"I checked with the medical staff after the game (Friday) night, and all feels good as far as the body, and he passed all the tests and he'll play (Sunday)," Bochy said Saturday. "It's always good to have your guys back, and he's one of our guys. He's going to make this lineup better, he's going to lengthen it out."

--Field Level Media