Rockies’ Marquez stymies Giants with near no-hitter
SAN FRANCISCO >> The Giants had registered a hit in every home game since June 10, 1997, when Kevin Brown tossed a no-hitter for the Florida Marlins at Candlestick Park.
Through 7 1/3 innings Sunday at Oracle Park, the Giants had no hits, and Rockies pitcher German Marquez was cruising at only 77 pitches.
Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado had just made that signature play in the field that every no-hitter seems to feature, and the Giants’ bats had no chance. But of course, when the Giants seemed most destined for a doughnut in the hits column, Evan Longoria snuck one through third and short with one out in the eighth.
Longoria’s base knock remained the hosts’ only hit on the afternoon, though, as the Giants (7-10) suffered a 4-0 loss to the Rockies (4-12) at Oracle
Park on Sunday.
“He’s good. We knew that coming into this game. He throws an easy 97, he’s got a great slider, he was on top of his game,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Marquez, who threw 75 of his 105 pitches for strikes. “He really pounded the strike zone.”
The Giants entered Sunday’s series finale 28th in the MLB with only
2.94 runs scored per game. The Rockies sat one spot worse with 2.8 runs per game — the Giants won the first three games of the series as Colorado only scored a combined four runs in three games — but Arenado’s three-run shot in the fifth inning off Derek Holland topped his team’s pergame average alone.
“It was supposed to be a sinker away. Obviously it went down the middle. He’s hands down one of the best hitters in the game,” Holland said. “The execution is what you need right there in that situation and the one guy you truly don’t want to beat you put the run up for them. Put that right there on a platter for him.”
The All-Star’s first home run of the season gave the Rockies a 4-0 lead after Trevor Story’s RBI double scored Arenado two innings prior, and the Giants’ bats had no response. Literally. They didn’t have a single hit or baserunner
through five innings.
Kevin Pillar broke up Marquez’s perfect game in the sixth when he took a 1-1 pitch to the back, but he remained the Giants’ lone man on through six frames. The Giants didn’t register a hit in the seventh inning either, and Marquez had only thrown 76 pitches.
The last time the Giants were no-hit came in 2013, when Reds pitcher Homer Bailey blanked the Giants in Cincinnati. The Giants
only fell victim to a no-hitter one other time this century, when Kevin Millwood plastered a zero in 2003 for the Phillies in Philadelphia. The last time the Giants were no-hit at home came against those Marlins in 1997, and that wasn’t even at the Giants’ current stadium.
Brandon Crawford roped a grounder to third to start the bottom of the eighth that deflected off Arenado’s glove and up in the air.
Arenado scampered to his right, barehanded the ball and threw off-balance to first to make it 23 straight batters without a hit. The Giants’ best chance yet to avoid history went awry, and Arenado’s barehander seemed destined for the SportsCenter highlight reels of Marquez’s eventual no-no.
“The few balls we did hit hard we hit right at them so we had a little tough luck there, but give credit where
it’s due,” Bochy said. “He pitched a heck of a game. He’s gonna throw a lot of games like that. That’s how good his stuff is.”
Longoria stepped to the plate next, and lined another grounder toward Arenado, this one slightly to his left.
Arenado again darted toward the ball with his glove extended, but it snuck onto the left-field grass for the Giants’ first hit of the day as the home crowd erupted in relief.
That was the only time the crowd had reason to cheer, though, as the Giants’ bats went silent and they couldn’t execute the fourgame series sweep against the worst team in baseball.
“You gotta tip your hat also to Marquez. He had a great game, hats off to him. He executed his pitches, he was doing his job,” Holland said. “He had a no-hitter into the eighth, so hats off to him.”
The Giants will fly to Washington, D.C. Sunday night coming off their first series win of the season, yet still sitting three games below .500 with the Nationals (7-7) up next.