Rockies 19, Diamondbacks 2: German Márquez homers (and also pitches well)

Summarizing a game like Wednesday night’s game is basically deciding on which weird thing to focus on. Is it the catcher playing second, or the catcher playing third? Is it the 18 runs the Rockies scored in the first four innings, or is it the fact that a position player was already pitching for the Diamondbacks in the fourth inning? Really though, the decision is pretty easy for this one.

In the Rockies 19-2 win over the Diamondbacks, the weirdest and most memorable thing to happen was starting pitcher German Márquez hitting a roughy 440 home run off of utility infielder Daniel Descalso. That solo home run gave the Rockies their 19th run. Fittingly, Márquez’s smirk of disbelief was only matched by Descalso’s. Baseball really is a great thing, even when it seems like it should be anything but.

Fine pitching

The home run was the highlight, but Márquez also pitched a solid game. In six solid innings, he struck out eight batters, walked two, and gave up two runs. It was a great start, though it was obviously overshadowed by the fact that the Rockies were up by 17 when he left the game.

Daniel Desclaso, despite giving up the home run, pitched pretty admirably. So did catcher Alex Avila. Those two position players gave up 3 runs in 4²⁄₃ innings. Compare that to the 16 runs the actual pitchers gave up in the other 3¹⁄₃ innings. Sure, the Rockies had basically stopped trying at some point, but it’s still a marvel.

Up next

Tomorrow’s rubber match between the Rockies and Diamondbacks will see Kyle Freeland start against Robbie Ray. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 MT.