Rangers wrangle another win away from Rockies, week-long skid increases to 1-5

It was not a great night for Colorado’s ace, but a second-straight loss to Texas was down to the offense struggling with runners in scoring position and the bullpen struggling to put up zeroes.

German Márquez left the game down only 3-2 after a quality start that required a lot of defensive help. He struggled at times to command the strike zone and miss bats, walking just two while giving up nine hits.

In the other dugout, Rangers’ Kyle Gibson looked every bit the pitcher that would have been a welcomed addition to the Rockies’ staff following his first taste of free agency. He gave up two more hard hit balls than Márquez, but it was the 12 ground outs that showed how effective he can be at altitude.

Carlos Estévez proved to be human with a three-run home run to newly acquired Derek Dietrich following consecutive singles to Willie Calhoun and Joey Gallo to start the eighth inning.

Offensively, it appeared a repeat of Friday night’s 3-2 loss with two runs scoring on a two-out double from Tony Wolters in the second inning.

Colorado got a run with a leadoff triple in the eight from Charlie Blackmon, only his second in five games against Texas, and a well-placed sacrifice fly from Nolan Arenado.

The ninth provided plenty of excitement. Raimel Tapia reached on catcher’s interference and scored on Ryan McMahon’s second hit of the night.

Player of the Game: Márquez – 6 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

It wasn’t his best of the season, but it should have been enough to provide Colorado with a win at Coors Field. It was only six hard hit balls all night, spread around the lineup, and eight ground balls – including three that sparked well-timed double plays – to just three fly balls. Not marquee, but certainly worth the price of admission.

Moment of the Game: Dietrich puts game out of reach with HR

It’s only been three game in the red, white and blue of the Rangers uniforms, but Dietrich has made a strong impression since being released by the Chicago Cubs earlier in the month. His three-run home against Estévez was the difference, as two late runs from Colorado would have provided a purple victory with a scoreless night from the bullpen.

Defensive Gem(s): Trio of double plays to end scoring threats

No two snowflakes are alike. Same can be said for Rockies double plays, especially those Saturday night to increase the team’s MLB-leading 67th twin killing.

With two runners in scoring position and only one out, Márquez got a gift when Shin-Soo Choo got caught between home and third base before Arenado fired down to second to get the batter-runner in the irregular 5-2-5-4 double play.

Márquez helped himself in the fifth with Joey Gallo at third base with one out when Derek Dietrich hit one back up the box for the start of the inning-ending 1-6-3 double play.

Possibly the best of the three plays came on the 105th pitch of the night by Márquez. Arenado grabbed an Elvis Andrus ground ball, tagged Rougned Odor on his way to third base, and fired across the diamond to complete yet another inning-ending double play.

Diamond Details

• Entering the ballgame, German Márquez ranked seventh in the National League with a 2.08 ERA. His start against Texas is his 98th, tying him with Kevin Ritz for 11th place in franchise history.
• After seven seasons with the Minnesota Twins, Kyle Gibson made his first regular season start against the Colorado Rockies and, thus, his Coors Field debut.