Hey, 19: Marquez rocked for 11 runs in 2 2/3 innings
Rockies get swept despite strong effort in doubleheader’s nightcap by rookie pitcher Gonzalez
A double whammy has the Rockies searching for answers.
In the first game of Monday’s doubleheader at Coors Field, the Rockies couldn’t pitch and they couldn’t hit. In the second game, they pitched fine, but couldn’t hit.
And so the Giants swept away the sliding Rockies, winning 19-2 in Game 1 and 2-1 in the nightcap.
The Rockies are looking less and less like a playoff contenders and more and more like pretenders. Indeed, with a 4648 record, they are no longer just treading water, they are in danger of going under. They have lost 14 of their last 20 games, and their starting rotation is badly leaking oil and headed toward a complete meltdown.
Triple-A call-up Chi Chi Gonzalez did what German Marquez could not do in the opener: give his team a chance to win. The right-hander pitched five-plus innings, giving up two runs on five hits, departing with a 2-1 deficit. The damaging blows off Gonzalez were back-to-back home runs by Stephen Vogt and Brandon Crawford in the fourth inning. Crawford had a memorable day, hitting three home runs and driving in nine runs.
Say this for Colorado’s relief corps of Carlos Estevez, Bryan Shaw and Jairo Diaz: They slammed the door and gave their team a chance to win Game 2. But Colorado managed just five hits and struck out 10 times.
The 19-2 loss to the Giants in the series opener was one of the worst stinkers in franchise history. In fact, the 19 runs were the most runs they’ve ever allowed to the
Giants. Want even more macabre history? Colorado lost by at least 17 runs for just the fourth time in their history, and the first time since losing by 17 on Sept. 17, 1995, vs. Florida.
Marquez was at the epicenter of the Game 1 blowout.
“I didn’t really have anything out there today, and you could see that,” Marquez said.
You sure could. The righthander, projected to be one of the National League’s shooting stars this season, was torched for 11 runs on 11 hits in just 2M innings, making it the worst start of his career. He became the first Rockies pitcher to allow 11 or more runs in at least 2 2/3 innings pitched since Jeff Fassero allowed 11 runs in three innings Aug. 8, 2004 vs. Cincinnati. The 11 runs allowed by Marquez were the most by a starter to an National League West opponent in franchise history.
“He couldn’t really get a good feel for the slider, and the slider really is a critical pitch for German, along with his fastball location,” manager Bud Black said. “But he didn’t really have great feel for the slider. You saw a couple of them bounce with two strikes way out in front of the plate. That’s uncharacteristic for him to do that repeatedly. The curveball, which also is a great weapon for him, didn’t really come into play, either.”
Marquez, now 8-5, saw his ERA rise to 5.12 overall and 7.08 at Coors Field.
The beneficiary of Colorado’s pitching woes was Crawford, who hit 5-for-6 with two home runs and eight RBIs in the opener. He became just the third Giants player to record eight RBIs in a game since the club moved to San Francisco in 1958, joining Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda (July 4, 1961, vs. Chicago-NL) and Willie Mays (April 30, 1961, at Milwaukee Braves).