Rockies Rotation: Quality Work is Becoming the Norm
After the Rockies scored five runs in the top of the first inning against the Mets at Citi Park on Friday night, German Marquez found himself having allowed two runs just two batters into the bottom of the first. Brandon Nimmo led off with a single and Asdrubal Cabrera followed with a home run.
Those were the only runs Marquez allowed in his six innings of work in a game the Rockies held on to win 8-7, despite the relievers allowing five runs in the final two innings.
That was the eighth time in the last nine games the Rockies have received a quality start. The only exception was April 27 at Florida when Tyler Anderson came out after 1 1/3 innings with a respiratory issue. He had not allowed any runs.
In the last nine games, the Rockies starting pitcher was unscored upon three times, allowed one earned run twice, two earned runs three times and three earned runs once.
For Starters: It's About Quality and Quantity
| Date | Opp | W | L | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | Starter |
| 4/24/2018 | vs. SD | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | Freeland |
| 4/25/2018 | vs. SD | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | Gray |
| 4/27/2018 | at Mia | 0 | 0 | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Anderson |
| 4/28/2018 | at Mia | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | Marquez |
| 4/29/2018 | at Mia | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | Bettis |
| 4/30/2018 | at ChC | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | Freeland |
| 5/1/2018 | at ChC | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | Gray |
| 5/2/2018 | at ChC | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | Anderson |
| 5/4/2018 | at NYM | 1 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | Marquez |
| Totals | 6 | 3 | 54.1 | 35 | 13 | 11 | 5 | 11 | 59 | 1.83 ERA |
The 16 quality starts equal the franchise's fourth highest total 33 games into a season. the franchise record of 19 was set in 1994.
Early Impact
| Year | QS |
| 1994 | 19 |
| 2009 | 18 |
| 2011 | 18 |
| 2007 | 16 |
| 2006 | 16 |
| 2018 | 16 |
| 2014 | 15 |
| 2010 | 15 |
| 1997 | 15 |
| 2013 | 15 |
| 2002 | 15 |
| 1993 | 14 |
| 2001 | 14 |
The Rockies have had a quality start in 48.48 percent of their starts, which would rank fifth among full seasons. The franchise record is 58 percent in 2009, when they were the NL wild-card. The Rockies are just behind the 48.5 percent from 2007, the only season in which the team advanced to the World Series.
| Season | QS | G | Pct. |
| 2009 | 94 | 162 | 58% |
| 2010 | 86 | 162 | 53.10% |
| 2006 | 81 | 162 | 50% |
| 2007 | 79 | 163 | 48.50% |
| 2018 | 16 | 33 | 48.48% |
| 2016 | 78 | 162 | 48.10% |
| 2011 | 71 | 162 | 43.80% |
| 2014 | 70 | 162 | 43.20% |
| 1996 | 70 | 162 | 43.20% |
| 2002 | 69 | 162 | 42.60% |
| 1998 | 69 | 162 | 42.60% |
| 2001 | 69 | 162 | 42.60% |
Anderson leads the team with four quality starts out of seven starts, and one of his failures was in that April 27 game in Florida when he had to come out after 1 1/3 innings with breathing problems. Every other starter has three quality starts. Chad Bettis, who starts Saturday,and Kyle Freeland, who starts Sunday, have their three quality starts in six games. German Marquez and John Gray have both started seven times.
| Player | QS | GS | Pct. |
| Tyler Anderson | 4 | 7 | 57.1 |
| Chad Bettis | 3 | 6 | 50 |
| Kyle Freeland | 3 | 6 | 50 |
| Jon Gray | 3 | 7 | 42.9 |
| German Marquez | 3 | 7 | 42.9 |
The franchise record for quality starts is 25 by Ubaldo Jimenez in 2010. Jimenez also had 24 in 2009, and had 18 in 2008. The Rockies have had 18 or more quality starts in a season 12 times.
| Player | Season | QS |
| Ubaldo Jimenez | 2010 Col | 25 |
| Ubaldo Jimenez | 2009 Col | 24 |
| Jason Marquis | 2009 Col | 21 |
| Jason Jennings | 2006 Col | 20 |
| Jhoulys Chacin | 2013 Col | 19 |
| Jeff Francis | 2007 Col | 19 |
| Darryl Kile | 1998 Col | 19 |
| Pedro Astacio | 1999 Col | 18 |
| Jhoulys Chacin | 2011 Col | 18 |
| Aaron Cook | 2006 Col | 18 |
| Aaron Cook | 2008 Col | 18 |
| Ubaldo Jimenez | 2008 Col | 18 |