Rockies Make Their Marquez on Mariners and Safeco
Talk about a feel-good moment.
How about nine innings of good feelings for the Rockies.
In the midst of a two-week stretch that figures to determine whether the Rockies are buyers, sellers or none of the above at the trading deadline of July 31, the Rockies opened up a stretch of 12 games against the Mariners and D-Backs with a 7-1 victory against the Mariners at Safeco Field on Friday night.
It was their seventh win in eight games, and a team that has gone from eight games out in the NL West nine days ago to 3 1/2 out after Friday's victory.
Big deal?
Well, it certainly was for Rockies right-hander German Marquez. Not only did he work six innings, giving up just one run to improve his road record to 5-3 with a 2.61 ERA, but he earned the victory in a start against his childhood icon, Felix Hernandez of the Mariners.
With a slider that is a new addition to his pitching assortment, Marquez gave up a lead-off home run to Denard Span in the sixth inning, and nothing else, before turning the game over to a bullpen in which Jake McGee, Scott Oberg and Scott Rusin worked a shutout inning apiece.
"I looked up to (King Felix) growing up," said Marquez. "To be able to face him is a dream come true. I was excited, but it was still about hitting the target and executing pitches."
With a smile, he added, "Felix is a great Person. I think he'll be happy for me and continue to give me advice."
With 19 victories, Marquez is tied for 39th in big-league victories among Venezulean-born pitchers. No. 1 on the list? Hernandez with 168 wins, 12 more than Freddy Garcia, who also pitched at one point in his career for the Mariners.
Victors of Venezuela
| Name | Wins | Losses | Pct. | ERA | IP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Felix Hernandez | 168 | 121 | 0.581 | 3.28 | 2607.2 |
| Freddy Garcia | 156 | 108 | 0.591 | 4.15 | 2264 |
| Johan Santana | 139 | 78 | 0.641 | 3.2 | 2025.2 |
| Carlos Zambrano | 132 | 91 | 0.592 | 3.66 | 1959 |
| Wilson Alvarez | 102 | 92 | 0.526 | 3.96 | 1747.2 |
| Kelvim Escobar | 101 | 91 | 0.526 | 4.15 | 1507 |
| Anibal Sanchez | 93 | 96 | 0.492 | 4.05 | 1645.2 |
| Carlos Carrasco | 71 | 57 | 0.555 | 3.83 | 999 |
| Carlos Silva | 70 | 70 | 0.5 | 4.68 | 1241.2 |
| Omar Daal | 68 | 78 | 0.466 | 4.55 | 1198.2 |
Tony Wolters was a late addition to the lineup at catcher. Tom Murphy, who was scheduled to start, flew back to Denver to be with his wife for the birth of their child. Murphy was placed on paternity leave and is expected to rejoin the Rockies when they open a three-game series against the Diamondbacks at Coors Field.
Wolters was enjoying the moment. He did an excellent job handling the pitching staff, and he had a big game offensively, something that had become a growing concern. Wolters went into the game not only with a .140 batting average, but having gone hitless in 22 at-bats, covering a calendar month.
In the second inning, however, Wolters' tripled, driving in one run and eventually scoring himself in giving the Rockies a 3-0 lead, his first hit since an RBI single in the top of the sixth at Cincinnati on June 6. And he added another triple, becoming the first Rockies player to have two triples in a game since Cory Sullivan at San Diego on April 9, 2006.
It was the 23rd time in franchise history that a player had two triples in a game. And Wolters is the 16th player to have tripled twice in a game at least once. Dexter Fowler and Larry Walker are the franchise leaders with three games each in which they had two triples.
Three's Company
| 2 Triples in a Game | |
|---|---|
| Player | Times |
| Dexter Fowler | 3 |
| Larry Walker | 3 |
| Carlos Gonzalez | 2 |
| Todd Helton | 2 |
| Neifi Perez | 2 |
| Brent Butler | 1 |
| Vinny Castilla | 1 |
| Tyler Colvin | 1 |
| Corey Dickerson | 1 |
| Charlie Hayes | 1 |
| Juan Pierre | 1 |
| Terry Shumpert | 1 |
| Seth Smith | 1 |
| Trevor Story | 1 |
| Cory Sullivan | 1 |
| Tony Wolters | 1 |
Charlie Blackmon, meanwhile, was putting togehter his sixth three-hit game -- 26th multi-hit game -- of the season. He hit his 16th home run, the 12th on the road. That's the second-most road home runs on the team -- one behind Ian Desmond -- and tied for the sixth-most in Major League Baseball. Mike Trout of the Angels has an MLB-best 15 road home runs. Ozzie Albies of the Braves is the NL leader with 14.
Road Warriors
| Date | Opponent | HR | Player | Team | HR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/31/2018 | @Ari | W 2-1 | 2 | Mike Trout | LAA | 15 | |
| 3/30/2018 | @Ari | L 9-8 | 1 | Ozzie Albies | Atl | 14 | |
| 4/2/2018 | @SD | W 7-4 | 1 | Mookie Betts | Bos | 14 | |
| 4/14/2018 | @Was | L 6-2 | 1 | Ian Desmond | Col | 13 | |
| 4/15/2018 | @Was | W 6-5 | 1 | Paul Goldschmidt | Ari | 13 | |
| 4/16/2018 | @Pit | W 6-2 | 1 | Charlie Blackmon | Col | 12 | |
| 4/28/2018 | @Mia | L 4-1 | 1 | Matt Davidson | CWS | 12 | |
| 5/1/2018 | @ChC | W 3-1 | 1 | Evan Gattis | Hou | 12 | |
| 5/4/2018 | @NYM | W 8-7 | 1 | Yadier Molina | StL | 12 | |
| 5/18/2018 | @SF | W 6-1 | 1 | Jose Ramirez | Cle | 12 | |
| 7/6/2018 | @Sea | W 7-1 | 1 | Kyle Seager | Sea | 12 |
Blackmon's home run was only the 10th -- by 10 different players -- hit by the Rockies in 15 games they have played at Safeco Field.
| Player | Season | AB | HR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benny Agbayani | 2002 | 6 | 1 |
| Nolan Arenado | 2017 | 26 | 1 |
| Charlie Blackmon | 2018 | 21 | 1 |
| Dustin Garneau | 2015 | 8 | 1 |
| Jeffrey Hammonds | 2000 | 8 | 1 |
| Brad Hawpe | 2006 | 11 | 1 |
| Brent Mayne | 2000 | 7 | 1 |
| Mark Reynolds | 2017 | 7 | 1 |
| Yorvit Torrealba | 2006 | 5 | 1 |
| Larry Walker | 2002 | 10 | 1 |
The Rockies are 8-7 all-time at Safeco Field, and they have won seven of the last 10 games. They, however, have never won back-to-back games in the same series, which they could achieve with a victory on Saturday.
| Date | W | L | Sv |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6/5/2000 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6/6/2000 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6/7/2000 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 2 | ||
| 6/28/2002 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6/29/2002 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6/30/2002 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | 2 | ||
| 6/30/2006 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 7/1/2006 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7/2/2006 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | ||
| 9/11/2015 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9/12/2015 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9/13/2015 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | ||
| 5/31/2017 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6/1/2017 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | 1 | ||
| 7/6/2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 |