Rockies rally late to filet the Fish

The Colorado Rockies know their formula for success in 2019.

They are going to need to rely heavily on their starting pitching, so it bodes well that for the second straight game right out of the gate, the man who took the ball for the first six innings gave up only two hits.

This time it was German Marquez, who like Kyle Freeland the day before, allowed just a run on a solo home run and was otherwise near untouchable in this outing, keeping his club around for a battle until the offense was finally able to break through late.

The Marlins struck first in the fourth inning when veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson lead off by launching a solo home run to center field.

The Colorado offense was frustrated through the first five innings, making hard solid contact on multiple occasions with little to show for it.

So they got aggressive in the sixth with two outs after shortstop Trevor Story drew a walk. David Dahl, the offensive stand-out from the first game of the season, pulled a ball just in between first and second base with a spin that slowed it as it reached the outfield grass.

Story turned on the jets and made the defense hesitate with a stutter-step move around third base, racing for home. The throw came in just behind him and he plated the tying run from first base on what turned out to be a seeing-eye double for Dahl.

Marquez, who had set down the sides in order since giving up the home run, suddenly lost the handle in the sixth, loading the bases on two walks and a hit batsmen. And that even came after a single and a caught stealing. Starlin Castro worked the count full but Marquez won the payoff pitch, getting an easy ground out to short, allowing Rockies fans to take a sigh of relief.

Ryan McMahon started the seventh with a double on a sharp liner just inside the line in left but looked like he might end up stranded after a Tony Wolters line out to third and a Garrett Hampson pinch-hit pop-up on the infield.

But Charlie Blackmon came through with another double just down the left-field line, scoring the go-ahead run.

DJ Johnson made his season debut in the seventh, pitching a 1-2-3 frame with a strikeout.

He stayed on for the first batter of the eighth and Lewis Brinson gave a fastball a ride out to deep center field but Ian Desmond made a spectacular leaping catch at the wall to rob a home run and preserve the 2-1 lead for his club.

Mike Dunn came on and recorded the last two outs in order at his former stomping grounds.

The Rockies went insurance shopping in the ninth and found some deals they liked.

It began again with McMahon who drew a walk and came in to score on a line drive double to right off the bat of Tony Wolters, the fourth hit of the season already for Rockies catching.

After a Raimel Tapia ground out in a pinch-hit appearance, Blackmon plated Wolters from second with his third hit of the game, a single to left. Daniel Murphy reached when third baseman Brian Anderson couldn’t handle an awkward pop-up.

That gave Nolan Arenado a chance for his first RBI of the season and he took it, singling to right to score Blackmon. Story followed up with a floating single to center and heads up base running from Murphy led to another run.

When the dust settled, it was a four-run inning that gave Colorado a 6-1 lead, allowing closer Wade Davis to take a seat back on the bench of the bullpen.

So it was Bryan Shaw, looking for a redemption story in 2019, who came on for the ninth and he retired the side in order with a strikeout to secure the win.

Final Stats

Ryan McMahon: 1-for-2, 2 R, 2 BB

Charlie Blackmon: 3-for-5, 1 R, 2 RBI

Tony Wolters: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI

Nolan Arenado: 2-for-5, 1 RBI

Trevor Story: 1-for-4, 1 R

German Marquez: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K

DJ Johnson: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Mike Dunn: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K

Bryan Shaw: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K