Only for Guild Members » Evansville.Being a Denver native

DENVER — Two young starters who have assumed prominent roles in their respective rotations will oppose each other Saturday when the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers continue their series.The Dodgers trail the Rockies by a half game in the National League West after their 4-2 win on Friday. The Arizona Diamondbacks Tug McGraw Jersey , who beat the Atlanta Braves 5-3 on Friday, are third, 1 1/2 games behind the Rockies. The Dodgers are one game behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the race for the second NL wild-card spot. Article continues below ...Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland (13-7, 2.96 ERA) has been their most consistent starter all season. And Walker Buehler (6-4, 2.92) has recovered from a rib injury and become the Dodgers’ second-best starter behind Clayton Kershaw. Freeland, 25, is in his second full season in the majors. Buehler, 24, is in his first full season after making his major league debut exactly one year ago Friday.Both pitchers are former first-round draft picks. Buehler was taken 24th overall out of Vanderbilt in 2015. Freeland was the eighth overall selection in 2014 out of Evansville.Being a Denver native, Freeland said he has “a special pride” starting a meaningful September game against the Dodgers. The Rockies are 19-9 in games started by Freeland, who has been particularly effective in hitter-friendly Coors Field, going 7-2 with a 2.27 ERA in 12 starts there this season.In his past seven starts, Freeland is 4-1 with a 1.85 ERA while allowing two home runs in 43 2/3 innings.Freeland is coming off a win Sunday at San Diego where he gave up seven hits and three runs in six innings in Colorado’s 7-3 triumph.Freeland is 1-3 with a 3.90 ERA in six career starts against the Dodgers, and 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA in two starts against them this season. The most recent was a no-decision Aug. 11 at Coors Field where Freeland allowed six hits and two runs in seven innings with two walks and a career-high 10 strikeouts in Colorado’s 3-2 win. He’ll face them again with the pennant race in sharper focus than it was a month ago.“It’s exciting knowing that we’re in the hunt, they’re in the hunt, they’re a rival in our division,” Freeland said. “It’s really exciting, but you can’t buy into the hype. You still have to go out there and play your brand of baseball. You can’t try to do too much or do less or anything like that. You need to stay focused on what you need to get done.”Save for an ill-fated relief appearance that lasted one inning June 28, Buehler didn’t pitch for the Dodgers from June 9 thru July 12 due to a microfracture in his right rib.The Dodgers are 11-7 in starts by Buehler, who in his last outing Sunday against the Diamondbacks allowed one run and two hits in 6 1/3 innings but ended up with a no-decision in the Dodgers’ 3-2 win.In nine starts since returning from his rib injury, Buehler is 2-2, and he is 2-0 over his last six starts.“I think I came off the rib injury and kind of tried to simplify things,” Buehler said. “Really tried to figure out what worked for me and what didn’t, and I changed the curveball grip and have kind of thrown more hard sliders Drew Hutchison Jersey , cutters.”Buehler had thrown a knuckle-curve but said he wasn’t getting the swings and misses he wanted, so he is now throwing a more traditional curveball. He said with the slider and cutter, he is now throwing each with more conviction “instead of throwing one that spins and you never know which one it was going to be.”Buehler has made seven career appearances, including three starts, against the Rockies and is 0-0 with a 4.07 ERA. All three of those starts came this season, and Buehler had a 2.37 ERA in those games. BALTIMORE (AP) — If the Oakland Athletics are to advance in October, they’ll have to do it without Sean Manaea.Manaea, who threw a no-hitter against Boston earlier this season, joined Oakland’s list of pitchers lost to season-ending surgery when the team announced Tuesday that the lefty was done for the year because of shoulder trouble.The playoff-contending A’s said Manaea, on the disabled list since Aug. 26, will have an operation to repair a left shoulder impingement on Sept. 19 at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles.“He was that guy that every series, when teams played us, they’re looking to see if Manaea’s pitching in the series,” manager Bob Melvin said before a game at Baltimore. “That’s what your top guy means to you. Again, I feel worse for him. We’ll find a way to manage around it.”The 26-year-old Manaea went 12-9 with a 3.59 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 160 2/3 innings this year. He pitched a no-hitter at home against the Red Sox on April 21, fanning 10.The A’s entered the day trailing first-place Houston by three games in the AL West. They also were three games behind the Yankees for the top spot in the wild-card standings.Oakland has been plagued with season-ending injuries to pitchers. Daniel Gossett, Kendall Graveman, Jharel Cotton and A.J. Puk each have undergone Tommy John surgery this year.“I think the psychology of it, based on the fact that we’ve had so many this year, it’s almost like we’re numb to it,” Melvin said. “It started in spring training with a couple of guys.”“Everybody feels for (Manaea) and then you just kind of move past it and continue to try to play in the fashion we have. And he’s been out a little bit, too. It’s not like this is a sudden thing that’s happened the last day or two,” he said.