Tigers doubleheader beatdown of Colorado pushed Rockies pitcher to call out team

To wrap up their long, three timezone-spanning road trip, the Tigers rolled into Colorado for a three-game set against the Rockies that was basically primed to help Detroit even up their home and road splits. And it did — the Tigers swept — even if the Rockies did give them a scare in the opener. The doubleheader on Thursday (after a Tuesday rainout), though, was the display of dominance that Tigers fans weren't expecting (with a lot of help from the Rockies' defense).

Veteran Rockies starter Kyle Freeland got the ball against Casey Mize for the first game of the day and immediately gave up a leadoff single. Two runs scored in the first, one thanks to an error that allowed Andy Ibáñez to score on a Spencer Torkelson single. It got worse in the second — the Tigers scored five more runs, one more thanks to another error — and Freeland's day was over after the third, when two more Tigers scored, another on an error.

Freeland was only technically responsible for five of the nine runs that came around before his exit, but the Tigers ended up scoring another to bring their total to 10 and make it a true rout (the Rockies scored two, only one off of Mize).

After the game, when both teams had just a brief break before having to suit up again and get back on the field to complete the doubleheader, Freeland said, "What [the Tigers and Royals are] doing is right, what we're doing is wrong. And we're not winning baseball games. We're playing a bad brand of baseball, all the way around. Pitching, fielding, hitting."

Veteran Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeland didn't mince words after suffering a sweep at the hands of the Tigers

It only got worse for the Rockies from there. In the series finale, the Tigers one-upped themselves by scoring 11, and the Rockies did the opposite with only one run to avoid being completely shut out. The Tigers' highlights included a bases-clearing double for Gleyber Torres and a 450-foot bomb for Colt Keith, while the Rockies collected two more errors.

The Tigers and Royals have been on a very similar trajectory over the past decade or so, and there was a time not too long ago that both of them were just as easy punching bags as the Rockies basically always have been. The difference is, as Freeland pointed out, that the Rockies just can't figure out how to play good baseball for the life of them. A lot of that blame falls on owner Dick Monfort, who doesn't seem to have any interest in actually seeing the team win.

The Tigers improved their American League-best record to match the Dodgers', who currently top the National League, while the Rockies slid even further away from .200. Detroit has two far more challenging series ahead of them when they get home against the Rangers and Red Sox, but beating up on the Rockies had to be a nice little ego boost before they return home to maintain their dominance at Comerica Park.