Rockies make statement in trouncing of Diamondbacks

DENVER – The Colorado Rockies began a four-game set with their division rivals, the Arizona Diamondbacks, on Monday night after a frustrating series with the Los Angeles Dodgers left them just a half-game up in the race for the NL West crown.

With the Snakes looking for an opportunity to get right back into the thick of things, Colorado pounced with a statement win in the first game, doing damage to the bullpen and the scoreboard with a massive 13-2 win.

With the victory, Colorado sent a message that they are still the team to beat in this division, and that when they have the offense going, they can beat any team on any day.

There have been a lot of questions about who will step up in this all-important stretch. Will one of the stars of the team play like one? Will the veteran role players step up or will it be the young guys? But the one constant through it all has been the top three members of the starting pitching rotation.

German Marquez continued his sparkling season on Monday night, twirling seven innings of record-setting baseball. He allowed just one earned run while striking out 11 batters in yet another display of swing-and-miss dominance.

Marquez became just the second pitcher in franchise history with three straight double-digit strikeout games. Pedro Astacio had four in a row back in 2000. Marquez’ 44 Ks in three games is a franchise record.

The Diamondbacks got their token first-inning run on the first two batters of the game. A.J. Pollock swung late but barreled a fastball and lined it off the wall in right for a triple. He was able to jog home with ease when Eduardo Escobar singled up the middle. Marquez got David Peralta to ground into a double play and Daniel Descalso to line out to left to prevent any further damage.

The Rockies missed opportunities in the first and third before finally breaking through with a huge six-run fifth inning.

It began with Ian Desmond ripping a double over Pollock’s head in center field that was followed by a game-tying single back up the middle from Tony Wolters. Marquez went to lay down the bunt and found himself with a base hit when he pushed it into the space between third base and the pitcher’s mound. Zach Godley lost his command at that point, walking Charlie Blackmon and then DJ LeMahieu on four pitches to put the Rockies ahead and force the Diamondbacks to go to the bullpen early.

Nolan Arenado fell behind in the count before hitting a weak grounder to second, beating a relay throw to earn an RBI fielder’s choice. David Dahl then came up with a hard line drive but it was right at the second baseman. Arizona was one out away from escaping the huge inning when Trevor Story unloaded on a low fastball, blasting it into the Rockies bullpen for a three-run home run, ballooning Colorado’s lead out to 6-1.

Marquez had struck out six in a row before the Diamondbacks found their way into back-to-back one-out singles in the top of the sixth from Escobar and Peralta. Paul Goldschmidt hit a high chopper toward third that Arenado made a nice play on to get the second out at first, but a run scored, bringing Arizona to within four.

The Rockies blew it open in the bottom of the seventh. Blackmon led off with a single away from the shift and LeMahieu doubled into the gap in right field. That left first base open and despite his recent slump, the Diamondbacks opted to pass on Arenado, loading the bases for Dahl.

The youngster misfired at a pair of pitches, falling into a full count before he found the fastball he wanted and demolished it with a perfect swing, sending the ball into the bleachers in right for the first grand slam of his career. That gave the Rockies a sudden 10-2 lead.

And they weren’t quite done.

Gerardo Parra and Desmond kept the pressure on with a few singled and Wolter followed with his third hit of the game to plate another. A pinch-hitting Ryan McMahon lucked into a swinging bunt to load the bases again for a Blackmon sac fly. LeMahieu threw out one more single before Arenado finally struck out to put an end to the madness. 13-2, Rockies.

Chris Rusin pitched in the eighth and allowed a single to Socrates Brito who was thrown out by Parra trying to stretch it into a double. Rusin got the next two in order. Sam Howard worked around a single in the ninth to end it.

Colorado improved to 79-64 and with a Dodgers’ loss now hold a 1.5 games lead in the NL West race.

Final Stats:

German Marquez: 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, BB, 11 K

Chris Rusin: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Charlie Blackmon: 3-for-3, 2 R, 1 BB

DJ LeMahieu: 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB

David Dahl: 2-for-4, 1 R, 4 RBI (HR: 10)

Trevor Story: 1-for-4, 1 R, 3 RBI (HR: 32)

What’s Next:

The second game of the series sees seasoned veteran Zack Greinke take on second-year man Antonio Senzatela. First pitch at 6:40 Mountain Time on Tuesday night.