It was tense in the ninth but the Rockies came away victorious in the second game of the simulated season, topping the Padres 3-2. The Rockies offense continued to struggle, producing just two hits but walking enough to produce more runs than the Padres could. Germán Márquez pitched into the seventh and got the win while Wade Davis overcame some shaky defense to secure his first save of 2020.
Walks will haunt
Dinelson Lamet started the game by retiring the first nine Rockies he faced. A leadoff walk to David Dahl in the fourth was to be all for naught, though a mysterious Fernando Tatis Jr fielder’s choice and a walk to Daniel Murphy loaded the bases. In the fifth, however, back-to-back hits from Ian Desmond and Tony Wolters broke up the no-no and then Lamet lost control. Three straight walks put the Rockies on the board and then a Nolan Arenado sac fly to left made it 3-0. As it turned out, this was just enough to secure the victory.
Márquez debuts
In his season debut, Germán Márquez made everyone remember why he signed that five-year, $45 million contract last year. Though he dealt with his fare share of traffic, he was adept at getting the outs he needed when he needed them. He punched out Brian Dozier to escape a jam in the sixth but was mysteriously left in to start the seventh. A leadoff walk followed by a pinch-hit single put two on with no outs, but Márquez was able to induce a double-play. Then Eric Hosmer drove a 3-2 pitch into the right field corner to make it 3-1 and to finish Germán’s night. His final line: 6 2⁄3 IP, 1 R/ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 6 K, 113 pitches.
Super Bullpen
After allowing the Padres to run away with the game late yesterday, the bullpen was much stronger today. Scott Oberg finished off the seventh for Márquez and then got the first two outs of the eighth (though he did allow two baserunners) before Jairo Diaz came in and finished it off. Wade Davis, the nominal closer to start the season, looked to have a 1-2-3 ninth wrapped up with a flyball from Hosmer bounced over the head of Desmond in right for a ground-rule double. He then scored on a single from Tommy Pham but Davis was able to strike out Fernando Tatis Jr to end the game.
Game Video
You can watch the entirety of this game on YouTube here.
If you’d like to run your own simulations, you can get your own copy of MLB The Show 20 right here.
Up Next
The Rockies and Padres will meet in game three of the season tomorrow evening at 6:45pm MT. You can catch the action then on YouTube (Like and Subscribe to be alerted to new games). Kyle Freeland will take the mound opposite Joey Lucchesi.