Colorado Rockies game no. 147 thread: Germán Márquez vs. Ian Anderson

UPDATE: First pitch is tentatively scheduled for 12:15 p.m. MDT due to ongoing rain in the Atlanta area.

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Wednesday night’s game between the Rockies and Braves ended at 11:41 local time. First pitch for today’s game is scheduled approximately 10 ¹⁄₂ hours later, and it’s safe to assume neither team took batting practice before today’s contest.

Forget the short rest. The #RoadRockies are going for a sweep today.

Colorado and Atlanta will kick off the final game of a three-game set this morning/afternoon as those in the Mountain time zone are finishing their final cup of coffee. The Truist Park grounds crew may have pulled an all-nighter getting the field ready after Wednesday’s sloppy conditions.

Germán Márquez is slated to make his 30th start of the season, fresh off a dominant six-inning performance against the Phillies on Friday. He is pitching with an additional day of rest today, thanks to a Monday off day, and has not thrown 100 pitches in any of his last seven starts. This could be something that helps him power through September at full strength.

Márquez has also struck out 11 batters in his last 11 innings. He has thrown his fastball at varying rates over his last eights starts with percentages as high as 56.6% and as low as 23.5%. With that variance has come an increasing mix of sinkers through August and September.

Atlanta will counter with Ian Anderson on the mound, making his 22nd start of the year. He holds a 3.61 ERA this year with a slightly higher FIP of 3.95, but his recent performance hasn’t been so even across both numbers.

Anderson missed a good portion of July and August with shoulder inflammation and has made three starts since returning from the injured list. In that time, the right-hander has posted a 3.95 ERA (13 ²⁄₃ IP), but a 6.46 FIP in those three starts might predict a rocky finish to the season.

He also tied a career-high strikeout total in his last outing with nine (Sept. 10), so his recent K’s predict a far different story than his recent FIP. Anderson’s last outing was just his second all year where he threw more curveballs than changeups.

Today’s pitching matchup is identical to August 4 at Coors Field. The Rockies won that contest 7-4, with Márquez tossing five innings (2 ER) and Kennedy pitching three (4 ER).

First Pitch: 10:20 a.m. MDT (pending rain)

TV: AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (COL), Bally Sports Southeast (ATL), MLB.TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Lineups: