Diamondbacks 4, Rockies 0: Lost in the Desert

The Colorado Rockies went down against the Arizona Diamondbacks in a shutout slog in the desert to lose the series. They stay four games over .500 with a 16-12 record, but their record on the road drops to 5-7. They are now 3-3 against NL West opponents.

Márquez continues to scuffle but shows improvement

Germán Márquez’s stretch of bad games continued this afternoon, though there were some improvements. He gave up six hits and three earned runs for the lowest of each in his last five starts. Prior to today’s ballgame he had allowed at least seven hits and four earned runs in his last four outings. He also struck out seven batters while generating 13 swings and misses, both improvements on his season thus far. The downside is that he still struggled with pitch placement, getting punished for leaving fastballs and sliders in the middle of the zone. He also walked a season-high four batters, while an errant throw on a pickoff attempt to first base allowed an unearned run to score. His ERA did drop to 6.47 and made it through six complete innings for just the third time this season.

Offense nowhere to be found

The Rockies were shut out for just the second time this season—both occasions on the road. Despite five hits, it was a hideous outing for the Rockies at the plate. They left six runners stranded and were 0-for-4 in their few at-bats with runners in scoring position. José Iglesias continues to swing the bat well, turning in a 2-for-3 afternoon, but little came of it. CJ Cron struck out three times in a hitless game while Ryan McMahon struck out twice. In the Rockies’ final chance to get on the board during the top of the ninth, the side went down in order with three straight swinging strikeouts. The Rockies were largely baffled by the starting pitchers for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who held them to just one run over the entire series. The Rockies offense will have to start showing up on the road like it did in Detroit if they have any chance at competing this year.

Coming up next

The Rockies are headed to the Bay Area to kick off a three game series against the San Francisco Giants. The first game of the series will be a late night west coast affair between two lefites: Austin Gomber for the Rockies and Carlos Rodón for the Giants. First pitch will be at 7:45 PM MDT.