Rockies open series with Marlins trying to avoid MLB history

The Colorado Rockies successfully avoided making history with a win over the weekend, and they have 12 tries left to avoid stamping their name into the MLB record books.

To put it another way, the Rockies' magic number is one: They need just one win in their final 12 games to avoid tying the 2024 Chicago White Sox (41-121) for the most single-season losses in the modern era.

The first of those attempts comes Tuesday when Colorado (41-109) begins its final homestand of the season against the Miami Marlins. The Rockies send Kyle Freeland (4-15, 4.97 ERA) to face Miami's Eury Perez (6-5, 4.67) in the opener of a three-game series.

Freeland has pitched well in three of his last four outings -- he was ejected eight pitches into his start against San Francisco on Sept. 2 -- and owns a 1.98 ERA in September. His best start of the season was on Sept. 5 when he struck out 10 in eight shutout innings against San Diego.

He is 4-0 with a 2.89 ERA in eight career games -- including six starts -- against the Marlins (70-80).

The Rockies have equaled the 2024 White Sox's win total, but it took longer than expected considering Colorado went 7-2 in the middle of August to reach 37 victories. The Rockies then dropped 17 of their next 20 before beating San Diego 4-2 on Friday night.

They return home having lost three of four in San Diego despite Mickey Moniak's hot bat.

Moniak, signed as a free agent before the season, hit two home runs and had a career-best five RBIs in Sunday's 9-6 loss -- and also found time to steal two bases. Amid the worst year in franchise history, Moniak has provided a spark.

He has accrued career-highs in homers (21), RBIs (62) and steals (nine) in his first season with the team.

"I've seen the ball well and was able to jump on two good pitches to hit, put good swings on them," Moniak said.

Miami, like the Rockies, has been riding a youth movement this year -- but has experienced more success. Perez, 22, is one of 16 players on the roster 26 or younger and, despite that, the Marlins have been competitive. They are 26-29 in the second half after taking two of three over the weekend from Detroit, which leads the AL Central by 6 1/2 games.

Perez has faced the Rockies just once in his brief career, on May 23, 2023, at Colorado, and has a 6.23 ERA against them. He took the loss after allowing four runs -- three earned -- in 4 1/3 innings.

It's not just the youngsters who are trying to make an impression for next year. Rookie Troy Johnston, a 28-year-old splitting time between first base and the corner outfield spots, hit two home runs on Saturday. That included an 11th-inning walk-off in just his 33rd major league game.

He grinded through 636 minor league games before being called up on July 29 and is focusing on the final two weeks.

"We can talk about the future and we can talk about different stuff, but realistically, we still have a season to play," Johnston said. "We still have (12) games left, so trying to make the most out of those games is the most important thing we can do."

--Field Level Media