Rockies Notebook: Bouncing back into first place in the NL West

DENVER – Here’s a taste of the yesterday’s post-game and today’s pre-game banter before the rubber match of a three-game series with the Cardinals:

Bud Black on German Marquez’s performance in game two:

“He threw great. I told him that was one of the best games he’s pitched this season. I thought his fastball had life, it had hop through the hitting area, secondary pitches were down – the change, the slider – a lot of quality pitches from German. Good tempo between pitches, pitching with a lot of confidence and aggressiveness. He was outstanding.”

Bud Black on his decision to go with Matt Holliday over Gerardo Parra with a right-handed pitcher on the mound:

“I was thinking, if Tony (Wolters) would have gotten on, we probably would went with Parra and save Matt for later. But with two outs, nobody on, I’m thinking (exactly) what happened: one big swing to give us a lead.”

Matt Holliday on the Cardinals and Rockies fans coming together for him:

“It’s humbling. I appreciate it. All the support and love that I’ve got. It’s a cool moment. I’m trying to really cherish the moments.”

Holliday on starting the five-run rally in game one, then the pinch hit homer in game two to start the offensive outburst:

“I’m not taking credit for that. The boys put together lots of great at bats in the bottom of the eighth. They looked really good up there. Some guys were fighting, making good swings. CarGo’s double to left center was a great swing against a really good reliever. Those are not… that’s not me.”

Carlos Gonzalez on the team’s ability to bounce back after the Cardinals tied the score in the top of the eighth:

“Every day we feel like we can play a really good game and are capable of beating any team. For us, I think we got better as a group forgetting about whatever happened the night before. Any loss, of course, is going to hurt. If you lose by one or by twenty, it doesn’t matter. You have to be able to flush it out and show up the next day and play the best game you can.”

Gonzalez on yesterday’s pitchers’ duel during the majority of the game:

“The way the game was going early, it was all about pitching. Marquez and Gant pitched well. They battled and kept everybody off the bases. That eighth inning it started the way we expected because after Holliday had hit that big home run in the seventh inning, (we felt) settled because we had Ottavino on the mound.”

Gonzalez on the run differentials of the Dodgers (+117) and Rockies (-2):

“There are still a lot of games in front of us, so we’re taking it day-by-day. It’s nice to be in first place, but I don’t think it makes any difference if you’re in first place (today) or tomorrow. We have about a month left and the next one is going to be huge for every single team because we’re going to play each other a lot. Over 20 games we’ll be facing the Padres, Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Giants. I think that’s when everything is going to be decided. We can’t wait. We’re ready for a challenge.”