Kris Bryant continues a pre-trade deadline showcase at the site of his stat-padding in 2021 when the Colorado Rockies visit the San Francisco Giants for a four-game series beginning Friday night.
The set matches the bottom two teams in the National League West. The Giants potentially are looking to buy before Tuesday’s deadline, while the Rockies surely to be on the receiving end of calls.
The much-maligned Bryant likely put his name on some watch lists with three hits and three runs Wednesday in Colorado’s 20-7 home win over the Boston Red Sox. The offensive show came one day after the 32-year-old returned from a seven-week absence due to back soreness to make an eye-catching, running catch in right field.
“I’ve been very frustrated for a while now,” said Bryant, who is hitting .200 (19-for-95) in 26 games this season. “But I’m trying to dig myself out of a hole of injuries. Hopefully, I can finish strong and get a good number of games.”
The Giants have seen this before. Dueling the Los Angeles Dodgers in a historic NL West race in 2021, San Francisco acquired the 2016 NL Most Valuable Player from the Chicago Cubs at the trade deadline for a pair of minor leaguers.
Bryant hit .262 with seven homers and 22 RBIs over 52 games down the stretch in 2021, helping the Giants hold off the Dodgers and earn the home-field advantage in the NL Division Series. He went 8-for-17 (.471) with a homer in a five-game series.
The four-time All-Star then became a free agent and signed a seven-year, $182 million contract with the Rockies in March 2022. He has four years and $108 million remaining on his deal.
Coming off 2-1 series wins over the Giants and Red Sox at home, the Rockies had Thursday off, increasing the chances Bryant will be in the starting lineup in Friday’s series opener in San Francisco. If so, he would be facing left-hander Kyle Harrison (5-4, 3.86 ERA) for the first time.
The 22-year-old threw five shutout innings, allowing one hit, in an eventual 7-3 loss at Colorado in his most recent start on July 19. He has never lost to the Rockies in his career, going 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in four starts.
The Giants made the short flight home Thursday night from Los Angeles after a 6-4 loss to the Dodgers that manager Bob Melvin labeled “disappointing.” The visitors had rallied into a tie in the eighth inning before giving up the game’s last two runs.
“Pretty deflating game,” Melvin noted. “(A) 2-5 road trip. C’mon. Not good enough right now. Not what we expected, not what we wanted. We’ve got to go home and play better.”
Having dealt with Clayton Kershaw in the trip finale, the Giants are now scheduled to face another left-hander in Rockies veteran Kyle Freeland (2-3, 5.63).
The 31-year-old was the winning pitcher in a 4-3 home win over the Giants last Saturday, allowing three runs (two earned) in six innings. Despite allowing a home run to Tyler Fitzgerald, Freeland improved his career record against the Giants to 8-6 with a 3.89 ERA over 23 starts. He has a lifetime 2.54 ERA over eight starts in San Francisco.
Also having beaten the Cincinnati Reds 6-5 on the road on July 10, Freeland has won back-to-back starts for the first time since his first two outings of the 2023 season in that March and April.
