Kyle Freeland, homegrown talent, supporting Colorado athletes even on the road.

With Freeland’s Colorado Rockies in Seattle this weekend for a three-game series which begins tonight, he spent part of his off-day supporting Colorado Special Olympians who are also in Seattle for the USA Games.

Freeland, who went to Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver, was born the same year the Rockies became a team, in 1993. He was originally drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2011 in the 35th round, but then taken by the Rockies in the first round of the 2014 MLB Draft.

In 2017, he broke into the majors, going 11-11 overall with a 4.10 ERA. He’s improved this season, currently standing at an 8-6 record with a best-on-the-team 3.25 ERA. Freeland’s 84 strikeouts this season are on pace to shatter last year’s 107 Ks, and his WHIP is down to 1.117. He’s the closest thing the Rockies have to an ace on a rotation with five starters in their 20s.

Freeland is set to pitch Game Two of the series, tomorrow at 2:10 p.m. MT, against James Paxton (8-2, 3.39 ERA) of the Mariners. That game will likely be the rubber match of the series.

The Rockies (44-43) are on a roll, winning six of their last 10, but the Mariners (56-32) are white-hot, winning 9-10.

The first game of the series begins tonight, with a first pitch scheduled for 8:10 p.m. MT.