It seems strange these days to see a starting pitcher used as a pinch-runner. It's risky, and there was indeed a chance for an injury there. Granted, Freeland has been awful this year, but he is in the rotation and was once the Rockies' ace.
I remember in 1973, Ken Brett pinch-ran between starts and was injured. At the time, he had homered in four straight games, but then he went on the DL. My fuzzy teenage recollection is that in the game before the four game streak, he had hit a ground rule double that really cleared the fence, which would have given him five straight games with home runs. I assume four straight is a record for pitchers in any case.
