Colorado’s bid for a sweep of the Mariners fell short Sunday, as Seattle (6-11) salvaged the series finale 5-3. Germán Márquez (2-2) pitched seven solid innings for the Rockies, but he gave up five runs — only two of which were earned — in the losing effort, raising his ERA slightly to 2.08.
Rookie hurler dazzles (most of) Rockies lineup
Seattle’s Justus Sheffield baffled the Colorado bats for six innings of shutout ball. The Mariners left-hander entered the contest with a 9.39 ERA, but he lowered it by more than four runs to pick up the first victory of his career.
Charlie Blackmon, however, wasn’t fazed. The Rockies outfielder stayed hot by picking up another two hits Sunday, extending his hit streak to 13 games. Blackmon is now hitting .458 this season with an impressive 1.187 OPS. If there was a quarter-season MVP award, Blackmon would be a finalist.
The Rockies pushed across three runs in the eighth inning against the Seattle bullpen, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a rough bottom of the seventh inning.
Missing Nolan
Rockies manager Bud Black gave Nolan Arenado a rare day off Sunday. The perennial All-Star has been struggling at the plate recently and is hitless in his last 14 at-bats. But as much as Arenado’s potential offense was missed, it may have been his glove that was missed the most.
Chris Owings filled in for Arenado at third base, and the defensive drop-off was palpable in the seventh inning. With the game still well within reach at 2-0, Seattle’s Kyle Lewis started the inning with an infield single (which many would argue Arenado would have handled). Kyle Seager then hit another ground ball, which looked like a possible double-play. But Owings threw the ball away — scored as a double error — to setup a three-run inning for the Mariners, who took a 5-0 lead. Owings was 0-for-4 at the plate Sunday, as well. Arenado is scheduled to be back in the starting lineup Monday.
Up next
The Rockies head home to face the Arizona Diamondbacks (6-10) for a three-game set at Coors Field. Jon Gray (0-1, 3.31 ERA) faces Robbie Ray (1-2, 9.45 ERA) on Monday with the first pitch scheduled for 6:40 p.m. MT.