Miley, Marquez face off at Coors
With the season on the line, the Rockies will need another ace outing from strikeout artist German Marquez when facing the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday in Game 3 of the National League division series at Coors Field.
Colorado carries an 02 deficit into Lodo, where the righthanded Marquez will toe the rubber opposite Milwaukee lefthander Wade Miley, who lasted more than five innings in just one of his six September starts.
Marquez (1411, 3.77 ERA) allowed two runs in fourplus innings in Colorado’s loss in the NL West tiebreaker game last Monday against the Dodgers. Prior to that outing, he posted 12 consecutive quality starts en route to shattering the club’s singleseason strikeout record with 230.
The 23yearold has pitched twice against the Brewers this season, with Colorado losing both games. Marquez was battered for five runs on 12 hits in fourplus innings at Coors Field in May, and then saw his strong effort of seven innings of tworun ball wasted at Miller Park in early August.
The Brewers are hitting .333 (27for81) in Marquez’s four career starts against them, and he has surrendered home runs to Orlando Arcia, Keon Broxton, Lorenzo Cain and Domingo Santana.
Asked about the potential of pitching in cold weather Sunday, Marquez said it’s an adjustment.
“I learned from opening day (when it snowed). I let the cold weather affect me. That’s not going to be anything that hurts me now,” he said Saturday.
The Colorado offense will need to wake up from its postseason slumber against Miley, who yielded three runs in as many innings in his final regularseason start.
Asked Saturday if he expects the Brewers’ outstanding bullpen to pick him up, Miley said, “I feel like I try to go out and get as many outs as I possibly can, because I’m going to try to go nine innings.”
Miley said he views his job as he intends to “just try to give the team a chance.”
He signed a minorleague contract with the Brewers in spring training and started the 2018 season with Doublea Biloxi. His season was derailed by injuries to his groin and his oblique early on, which limited him to 16 majorleague starts. The 31yearold (52, 2.57) has seen plenty of Colorado’s core players from his four seasons in Arizona. The Rockies tagged him for three runs in five innings in a home victory Aug. 5.
Considering Colorado hit lefthanded pitchers at a .272 clip this season — secondbest in the majors behind the Astros (.275) — Miley’s outing could be just what the doctor ordered after the Rockies mustered only two runs across 22 total innings of the first two NLDS games.