Rockies rebound behind Márquez, win 8-4 against AL's best

NEW YORK, NY – Winning is always what the doctor recommends for any ailing team, but for a Rockies team playing their worst stretch of baseball this season, Sunday’s dose helped stave off a trip to the medical ward as the death knells grow louder.

German Márquez regained his composure after the worst start of his career last Monday and delivered a remedy to end to an even worse 15 game stretch (2-13) than the one that started the season (3-12). After the first pitch of the game, he was in cruise control and allowed the offense to get in multiple grooves.

When his day was done, Márquez surrendered two earned runs in seven innings that were much needed by everyone in the Rockies bullpen.

Entering the day, Bud Black discussed the team’s current string of play and being outscored 127-64 over the last 15 games. “As a group, we have a lot of guys – both on the mound and at the plate – who are statistically… not their norm. We need to get on a roll and to get things to turn,” he’d say.

Thankfully, for Colorado, things were quite normal for once.

It started with a familiar scene in The Bronx when Charlie Blackmon deposited a James Paxton fastball into the right-center field bleachers to stake the Rockies to an early lead in the first. It was his sixth leadoff homer of the season and 36th of his career, moving him into ninth place all-time in the category.

Not be outdone, Blackmon’s friend and former teammate followed in kind with his own. DJ LeMahieu’s 14th dinger of the season is his third of the leadoff variety in 2019.

From there on, things normalized in regards to how Colorado expects to play. After that first pitch of the game, Márquez settled to strike out four and walking two during the next four innings, all without allowing a base hit. He gave up a solo home run to Mike Tauchman in the fifth, but was otherwise calm and collected in the 94-degree heat.

In the third, the bottom of the order generated early action on the bases for the Rockies. Chris Iannetta walked and Tony Wolters’ reached on a sacrifice and error before Blackmon’s single loaded the bases.

Nolan Arenado ripped a double down the left-field line to break the tie and pull the star third baseman out of a 5-for-23 stretch that produced just one run batted in before Saturday’s slump-busting home run. The damage would continue with an Ian Desmond walk and David Dahl dropping in a single that scored two more.

It was more of the same in the fourth inning when Iannetta drew a base on balls and Blackmon notched another single, chasing the Yankees starter. Relief pitcher Chad Green quickly gave up a ground-rule double to Trevor Story who added two more runs batted in to his ledger.

Colorado got an insurance run in the eighth when Iannetta walked, his third base on balls to start an inning in the game, coming around to score thanks to a Blackmon double, his fourth hit of the game, and a passed ball.

Scott Oberg, owner of the second-lowest earned run average among all NL relievers (1.35), coughed up a two-run homer to Aaron Hicks in the eighth to make it interesting, but closer Wade Davis set down the Yankees in order to keep Colorado a threat for the final Wild Card spot.

The win lifts Márquez to 7-0 in interleague play to start his career, longest in franchise history and tied for fourth longest all-time.

Colorado heads to the capitol to face the Nationals in a four game set.

Monday: RHP Peter Lambert (2-1, 6.06) vs RHP Erick Fedde (1-1, 3.50)

Tuesday: RHP Jon Gray (9-7, 4.11) vs Stephen Strasburg (12-4, 3.52)

Wednesday: LHP Kyle Freeland (2-7, 7.62) vs LHP Patrick Corbin (7-5, 3.40)

Thursday: TBA vs TBA