Rockies beat Astros, notch third consecutive win behind ace-like game from Kyle Freeland

Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post on Apr 7, 2026

Published in Baseball

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DENVER — The Rockies have been talking the talk, insisting they have erased the nightmare of 2025, and proclaiming they can be a winning team — “a lot sooner than you think,” in the words of manager Warren Schaeffer.

Eyes might be rolling at those comments, but on Tuesday night at Coors Field, the Rockies walked the walk, beating the Astros, 5-1. Starter Kyle Freeland was nails, and Willi Castro and Mickey Moniak both slipped on the celebratory purple faux fur coat after launching home runs.

The Rockies have won three in a row for the first time since their four-game winning streak from Aug. 15-18 of last season and inched back toward .500 with a 5-6 record.

Here’s the deal with Freeland. He was dealing. The lefty, pitching on the ninth anniversary of his major league debut, allowed one run on three hits over 6 1/3 innings. After three starts, he has a 2.30 ERA.

Freeland was commanding — with all of his pitches. He landed 55 of his 81 pitches for strikes, surrendered three hits, walked only two, and struck out five. He fanned the dangerous Jose Altuve twice. The Astros frequently topped the ball, resulting in 10 outs via groundballs.

Castro showed why Colorado signed him to a two-year, $12.8 million contract. The versatile veteran infielder, who started at second base Tuesday night, hit 3 for 4 and drove in three runs.

The switch-hitter put Colorado ahead to stay with a two-run homer in the fourth off Astros starter Mike Burrows. Castro smashed Burrows’ 2-1, 87.7-mph slider 436 feet and into the Colorado bullpen in right field. The home run was Castro’s first in a Rockies uniform.

Moniak hit his team-leading third home run of the season in the seventh, a two-out, two-run blast to right off reliever Kai-Wei Teng.

The Astros took a 1-0 lead in the second on Christian Walker’s homer down the right-field line. He lofted Freeland’s 0-1 fastball 371 feet, sneaking it over the wall and just inside the foul pole.

Colorado tied the game in the bottom of the frame, combining an infield hit by Troy Johnston, a walk by T.J. Rumfield, and an RBI single to left by Castro.

Colorado looks for its first sweep of the season when it hosts Houston on Wednesday afternoon at Coors.