Kyle Freeland survived a slight separation to his right shoulder earlier this week but hit the injured list on Friday with a left elbow strain.

A play at the plate against the Phillies initially hurt his non-throwing shoulder. A collision at the plate, with the lefty as a pinch runner, caused it to dislocate again — he also had the shoulder pop out last season before the All-Star break. The latest injury, though, came after his start in Toronto, a day before the play at the plate.

He felt soreness creep up during the start in his forearm and was unable to rebound like normal in throwing sessions in the lead-up to his next start, which was slated for Saturday.

“It goes back to my start in Toronto, I had some discomfort late in my start,” Freeland said. “On Wednesday, I tried to test it and (it) was kind of a similar feeling to what I was having later in the game. Went and got a scan yesterday and (it was) a strain.”

He joins a growing list of pitchers across the league with throwing arm injuries. Freeland spent the offseason working on his velocity and had it back up to the same speed as his best year in 2018. In 2024, he had a 13.21 earned run average through four starts before hitting the injured list.

Scans revealed an elbow strain, but no damage to his Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL). Manager Bud Black said an initial timeline for the injury is likely “anywhere from a month to six weeks,” before he’ll return to the Coors Field mound, and Freeland said it will likely require a rehab stint in the minors before returning.

Freeland’s injured list designation is retroactive to April 16.

During the offseason, he worked with the team’s trainers and strength coaches on his velocity buildup to avoid complications from the increase. He hopes it isn’t connected, because the added velocity was a welcome change.

“I kind of dipped into a couple of different kinds of programs,” Freeland said. “I don’t know if that’s any correlation to my injury, I really hope not. I really enjoyed the work process, and I thought it was very good for me.”

In his place, the Rockies called up starter Noah Davis from Triple-A Albuquerque. Across four starts with the Isotopes, he worked to a 6.62 ERA, thanks in part to 10 walks issued in 17⅔ innings.

His arsenal is major-league-ready according to Black, but locating it is the next step.

“I’ve been working on filling up the strike zone, especially early in the count,” Davis said of his preparation in the minors this year. “Last year was a learning experience for sure. I learned how a big-league at-bat works, it’s a little different from the minor leagues. It’s much more of a chess game.”

Davis competed in spring training for a rotation spot before Ryan Feltner and Dakota Hudson each beat him out. He will take over Peter Lambert’s long-relief role, and Lambert will slide into Freeland’s vacated rotation spot, beginning with a start in Sunday’s doubleheader.

Lambert was also ushered into the rotation last year because of injuries and found success. He had a 4.50 ERA in 11 starts.

Rockies postpone Friday’s game, scheduled Sunday doubleheader

The Rockies announced Friday that their series-opening game against the Seattle Mariners would be postponed and made up in a doubleheader Sunday. Weather in the area will worsen throughout the night and into Saturday morning.

There are no plans currently to alter Saturday’s scheduled game, though.

The first game will be at 1:10 p.m. before a second at 6:10 p.m. Fans with tickets to Friday’s game will be eligible to go to the night game, but not the originally scheduled day game.

Cal Quantrill and Lambert will start the two games on Sunday for Colorado.