The road struggles for the Colorado Rockies were on full display Thursday night, as the club was shut out for the 15th time on the road. San Francisco pitching tallied 14 strikeouts on the night, allowing just four hits. The Rockies failed to put a runner on third base.
Colorado’s ace was on the mound, but tonight was not his night. The Giants got the best of Germán Márquez in the fourth inning, and they would remain in control into the cool San Francisco night.
Márquez struggles against Giants again
Márquez looked exceptional through his first five outs. Aside from a second-inning RBI double by Alex Dickerson, it was relatively smooth sailing for Márquez through the third. He collected five strikeouts after three frames and was holding the fifth-ranked wRC+ in baseball to one run.
He opened the fourth with another punchout—but then it got abysmal.
Brandon Crawford singled to center. Curt Casali doubled to left. The Rockies intentionally walked the eight hitter Alex Dickerson to get to the pitcher batting ninth, only for starter Logan Webb to knock a two-RBI single into center field.
Help your cause, right-hander. The Giants had a 93% win probability at this point in the fourth inning.
The offensive damage would only worsen as the inning went on. Leadoff hitter LaMonte Wade Jr. cleared the bases with a three-run homer. San Francisco had a 98% win probability at that point, and the Giants would not fall below that mark for the rest of the game.
Márquez’s final line: 4 IP (L), 7 ER, 2 BB, 6 K (WPA: -.269). The NL All-Star has now allowed 22 earned runs to the Giants this year in 14 1⁄3 innings.
Logan Webb shoves
San Francisco starter Logan Webb made quick work of the Rockies’ lineup, facing the minimum in four of his six innings.
The Rockies got the offense cooking for a minute with two outs in the sixth, as Connor Joe and Ryan McMahon hit back-to-back singles. It would be the only time Webb pitched with a runner on second base; the threat was quickly tamed with a strikeout by Trevor Story.
Webb’s final line: 6 IP (W), 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K.
1-for-2, 2 RBI.
Low-leverage bullpens battle
Each bullpen inherited a 7-0 ballgame and there wasn’t much to get amped up for. This was a classic “get your work in” ballgame, but both teams had some arms that proved themselves in the late innings.
Ben Bowden took over for Márquez in the fifth, working through the Giants’ four-through-seven hitters. He issued a one-out walk to Brandon Crawford, but would strike out the next two hitters and strand Crawford at first.
Colorado rolled out Ashton Goudeau in the sixth. He tossed three shutout frames, a huge step in the right direction after allowing three runs to the Marlins on Sunday (1 IP). A walk was his only blemish in an otherwise perfect showing, and the right-hander had his first scoreless appearance since June 10 as a member of the Reds. (Goudeau has pitched only four big league appearances since then.)
San Francisco called upon 33-year-old Jay Jackson in the seventh for the first time in five days. He tossed a three-up, three-down seventh with two strikeouts.
Jackson was followed by 24-year-old Camilo Doval, pitching in the big leagues for the first time since May. Doval allowed a single to Dom Nuñez, the Rockies’ fourth hit on the night. He struck out the other three batters he faced in the eighth, and he capped off the shutout with another punchout to end the game.
Up Next
Colorado’s Austin Gomber (3.79 ERA, 3.62 xFIP) and San Francisco’s Anthony DeSclafani (3.28 ERA, 3.92 xFIP) will toe the rubber under the lights on Friday as the Rockies will again look to play spoiler in the NL West. Gomber tossed six shutout frames against the Marlins in his last start, while DeSclafani was unable to complete five innings and allowed four earned runs to the struggling Diamondbacks.
Colorado is a +175 underdog for tomorrow’s game, per Bet MGM (SF: -200). First pitch is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. MDT.