CLOSER HOLLAND BLOWS LEAD, GAME AS INDIANS WIN 4-1
Colorado squanders a great effort by starting pitcher German Marquez when the star closer falters for the second consecutive time.
CLEVELAND» The Rockies kicked off a 50game sprint to the finish Tuesday from the shores of Lake Erie — and in a peculiar position. A club built from the beginning with bats continues to carry its way into contention from the mound.
German Marquez, one of a pair of 22year-old Venezuelan rookies in Colorado’s rotation, glided into the seventh inning at Progressive Field with justified aspiration. But during the Indians’ disheartening 4-1 walk-off victory over the Rockies, after Marquez gave up just two hits, Colorado took a haymaker to the chin.
Yan Gomes’ three-run homer off Colorado closer Greg Holland with two outs in the ninth inning, on a first-pitch fastball, quickly shifted the Rockies from what would have been perhaps their best victory of the season to one of the most painful.
“It’s a tough one,” Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu said. “But I’d take that situation every time with ‘Hollie.’ Even with runners on, I’d take it every day. They just got a couple big swings at the end.”
Austin Jackson’s blooper, also with two outs in the ninth, about a foot beyond the reach of center fielder Charlie Blackmon’s diving attempt to end the game in Colorado’s favor, tied the game at 1, one batter before Gomes’ first-pitch walk-off.
And Holland, the major-league saves leader and an all-star in his first season since Tommy John surgery scuttled a career in Kansas City, blew a second consecutive save opportunity in three days. On Sunday, the Philadelphia Phillies rallied in the ninth for a 3-2 victory at Coors Field.
“It’s really disappointing, the way we battled,” LeMahieu said. “But we’ve got a good team and a lot of confidence.”
Blackmon’s game-starting home run, a rainbow looper to the center-field seats, carried the Rockies for eight innings. Blackmon’s 100th career homer, his 26th this season, came on the second pitch of the game, a 90 mph sinkerball from Cleveland all-star Corey Kluber.
The Rockies are 49-17 this season when they score the game’s first run. Cleveland is 17-32 when giving it up. But between the first batter and the last, a pitcher’s duel unfolded pitting the rookie Marquez and the maestro Kluber.
“That guy (Blackmon) hits a home run to lead off the game, you don’t think that that’s going to stand up,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. “The way their guy was pitching, it about did.”
Kluber, the AL Cy Young Award winner
in 2014, cruised through eight innings on just three hits. And when Kluber struck out Mark Reynolds on a wicked curveball to end the seventh inning, he became just the third pitcher with at least eight strikeouts in 13 consecutive games, after Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez.
“That is a throwback game for sure,” Colorado manager Bud Black said while raving about Kluber, who went the distance and struck out 11, while walking none.
But Colorado, with four rookie starting pitchers still excelling well into August, can retort. Mar- quez has carried the Rockies as an ace would for over a month, with six consecutive quality starts, including four victories. Since Marquez elbowed his way to the core of a benches-clearing confrontation against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 22 at Coors Field, he has a 2.42 ERA, with seven earned runs in 26 innings.
Marquez pitched perfectly his first time through Cleveland’s lineup, forcing five groundouts to Nolan Arenado at third base while also striking out slugger Edwin Encarnacion, Bradley Zimmer and Austin Jackson. Francisco Lindor doubled off Marquez for Cleveland’s first hit in the fourth inning, but two others grounded out weakly to DJ LeMahieu at first to strand him.
“It was a chance for me to face one of the best pitchers in the game,” Marquez said. “I had to step up.”
In the sixth inning, Marquez tossed six consecutive pitches outside the strike zone and walked Jason Kipnis and Lindor with one out. But Rockies first baseman Mark Reynolds dived them out of the inning. He ranged to left to rob a screamer down the line from Abraham Almonte, but his dive back to first trying to double off Lindor was just late. And when Jose Ramirez ground a ball off Marquez’s glove, Reynolds scooped it up and dived to tag him out sliding to first.
A strange play saved the Rockies in the seventh inning after lefty long man Chris Rusin relieved the rookie. An infield popup fell into the grass near the mound, a miscommunication between Rusin and Arenado. But Arenado quickly fired to second to start a double play as Brantley lagged running to first.
Kluber continued to the end, striking out the side in the ninth against Story, Blackmon and LeMahieu. But Blackmon’s homer, the one that carried in the Cuyahoga County air and carried Colorado to the ninth, fell two batters shy of carrying them to victory.
“All the guys in the room have suffered tough losses and bounced back the next day,” Black said.