The Sim Rockies survived another shaky start from Germán Márquez to come back and beat the Padres 4-3 in ten innings. The Rockies bullpen held the Padres scoreless over the final 4 ⅔ innings of the game. With two outs in the top of the tenth, Ian Desmond hit a clutch single up the middle to score Trevor Story from second, which ended up being the game winning run.
Bullpen picks up Márquez after rough outing
Germán Márquez had difficulty keeping Padres hitters off the base paths all day. He avoided damage until the fourth, when Tommy Pham led off the inning with a solo home run. That was followed by an error from Ryan McMahon and then a single by Manny Machado. Márquez got out of the jam only letting up one additional run on a Brian Dozier single. He seemed to settle in a bit in the fifth by sitting down the Padres in order, but was pulled in the sixth after allowing another solo shot, this time by Fernando Tatis Jr., putting the Padres ahead 3-1. Final line for Márquez was 5 ⅓ IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 K, 7 H, 4 BB.
Sim Bud Black mixed things up in the bullpen this week, and it worked out tremendously for the Rockies today. Wade Davis relieved Márquez in the fifth to get two quick outs and keep the game close. James Pazos, Jake McGee, and Jairo Diaz kept the Padres from tacking on any additional runs and set up Scott Oberg for his second save as the newly anointed Rockies’ closer. Oberg closed the door soundly, fanning two Padres in a 1-2-3 tenth.
Making their hits count
The Rockies only mustered six hits on the day, but made the most of them. In the sixth, Story fought off an 0-2 pitch into left field to drive in David Dahl for the Rockies’ first run of the game. McMahon then slammed his fifth home run of the season in the top of the seventh to get the Rockies back within one run. The clutch single by Desmond would be the last hit the Rockies needed to get the win. They will likely need to produce more in their next series against St. Louis so hopefully we’ll see some more offense in their next matchup at Coors Field.
Defense saves the day
Rockies pitchers dealt with traffic all day long, managing only two innings with no base runners. Thankfully, the infield provided relief in the way of three inning ending double plays. Although he kicked a ball for an error that led to a run in the fourth, Ryan McMahon made up for it by contributing to all three of the key double plays.
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Up Next
The Rockies will look to continue their winning ways heading back home for a three game series with the St. Louis Cardinals. Game 1 starts tomorrow at 6:40pm MT with Antonio Senzatela taking on Dakota Hudson.