MLB Game Preview - Colorado at San Diego

Fri Aug 9, 2019 10:10 PM EDT

Colorado's Kyle Freeland and San Diego's Cal Quantrill have something in common.

It's not the hands they throw with or the countries they were born in, but when they were drafted. Each was the eighth overall pick of their respective clubs.

Now, they face off Friday night in San Diego.

Freeland, a 26-year-old from Denver, was the eighth overall pick of the Rockies in the first round of the 2014 amateur draft.

Two Junes later, the Padres drafted Quantrill, a 24-year-old from Port Hope, Canada, with the eighth overall pick.

His third major league season has been a struggle for Freeland, who is 3-9 with a 7.24 ERA in 17 starts book-ending a detour to the minor leagues. Quantrill is 4-3 in a rookie season that has seen him work both in the rotation and out of the bullpen.

Freeland and Quantrill have another thing in common. Both have shown recent improvements.

In his last start, Freeland held the San Francisco Giants to two runs on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts in five innings to earn his first win since April 18.

"In his bullpen before that start, we saw some things that we really liked," Rockies manager Bud Black said of Freeland, who is 1-3 with a 7.54 ERA in 22 2/3 innings since being recalled from Triple-A on July 13.

Although he will be facing the Padres for the first time this season, the 6-foot-4 Freeland -- who had a 28-18 record and a 3.39 ERA in his first two major league seasons -- has had mixed results against the Padres in the past.

In eight appearances (seven starts) against the Padres, Freeland is 2-2 with a 4.03 ERA in 38 innings. He has 34 strikeouts with 13 walks. Freeland is 1-1 in four appearances (three starts) at Petco Park with a 4.50 ERA in 18 innings.

Quantrill has faced the Rockies just once during his rookie season, giving up four runs on six hits and a walk in five innings back on June 14 at Coors Field -- in a game the Padres eventually lost 16-12 in 12 innings.

Over his last five outings (four starts), Quantrill is 2-1 and has given up eight runs (six earned) on 19 hits and six walks with 20 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings for a 2.05 ERA and a 0.949 WHIP.

"Cal has made a ton of big pitches when he has had to," said Padres manager Andy Green. "You've seen that in his outings. Obviously, the pitch mix has been good for him. He's attacked well with the fastball and the slider has played well. He's wired to attack the lineup. He mixes and the sinker has worked well for him. The slider has played well and there have been moments when the change has really played well. He's a mix guy, and whatever is working on any given day, you'll see more of that pitch.

"When Cal was a first-round (draft pick), we knew he was coming off Tommy John surgery and that it would be a slow progression for him. It's really only this year that he has stepped on the gas and taken off. So, we see all the ingredients in him that the scouting department and the front office liked."

--Field Level Media