With the Colorado Rockies’ season looking bleak after just 15 games they needed someone to step up and turn things around.
Colorado had lost eight in a row and 12 of 13, including an 18-inning heartbreaker in San Francisco last week. Then German Marquez took the mound and things suddenly became brighter for the struggling Rockies.
The right-hander, fresh off signing a five-year, $43-million extension, tossed a one-hit shutout and kickstarted a four-game winning streak. Marquez will try to duplicate that effort when he faces the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.
The Rockies won the first game of the four-game series 6-2 on Thursday.
Marquez (2-1, 2.00) has been one of the few bright spots for Colorado. He had a no-hitter in San Francisco until allowing a one-out single in the eighth inning and settled for his first career shutout.
“He pitched so good and this year has been so tough, it was just good to see him go out and pitch that well,” All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado said. “He did an unbelievable job.”
Marquez can build on that outing against Philadelphia. The last time he faced the Phillies he allowed three hits and struck out 11 over seven innings on Sept. 26, 2018 in a 14-0 Colorado win. He is 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA in three career starts against Philadelphia, allowing seven runs in 19 innings.
Phillies starter Vince Velasquez has been hit hard in three career games against the Rockies but he has still had success against them. He is 2-1 with a 5.23 ERA in six career starts against Colorado. The Rockies tagged him for six runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings on Sept. 25 of last season.
Velasquez (0-0, 2.25) is still looking for his first win and will make his third start of the season. He pitched an inning of relief in his first game of 2019 and followed that with two solid starts. He pitched five innings against Washington and then went six at Miami on Sunday. The Phillies have won all three games in which he’s pitched.
“We understand that Vince is definitely a work in progress,” Philadelphia manager Gabe Kapler said after Velasquez’s start Sunday. “He has two quality outings under his belt at this point. We feel good about those.”
The Phillies won their first four games of the season but have played .500 ball since. They have fared better than the Rockies, whose offense was absent when dropping 12 of 13. They were shut out three times and scored two or fewer runs in nine games during that stretch.
The Rockies got a little healthier Thursday. Outfielder David Dahl, out since April 8 with a left core injury, and infielder Ryan McMahon, who suffered a left elbow strain April 5, were both activated from the 10-day injured list and were in the lineup. Dahl doubled and McMahon hit two home runs in their first game back.
The Phillies placed outfielder Odubel Herrera on the 10-day IL with a right hamstring strain suffered in Wednesday’s win over the New York Mets. Roman Quinn saw his first action of the season in center field in place of Herrera.
