Who do these guys think they are? The 1927 Yankees? The Big Red Machine? The Rockies of Rocktober?
Behind the one-two punch of starter Jason Marquis and All-Star contender Brad Hawpe, the surging Rockies decked the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-3 Friday night at Coors Field.
Colorado has won 14 its last 15 games and 16 of its last 21. The club is 16-5 since Jim Tracy took over as manager.
Though he faltered in the eighth and ninth, Marquis was terrific, coming one out shy of throwing a complete game.
When the Pirates scored twice in the ninth — the big hit a triple by Andrew McCutchen — Tracy reluctantly replaced Marquis with Alan Embree. The left-hander reliever got Nyjer Morgan to ground out to shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to end it.
Marquis gave up eight hits as he improved to 9-4. He is making noise of his own for a trip to the Midsummer Classic.
Jack Wilson, who played his 1,000th game at shortstop for the Pirates, was the only one to put a significant dent in Marquis’ armor with a solo homer to left in the seventh inning.
Hawpe, hitting .343, went 3-for-4. He drove in Todd Helton with a two-out double in the third, then followed up with a two-out, two-run homer in the fifth.
Dexter Fowler doubled and then scored on a passed ball to put the Rockies ahead 1-0 in the first. In the second, Tulowitzki’s homer to dead center increased the lead to 2-0. Tulo- witzki has homered in five of his last 11 games.
The hot streak was cooled by news that setup man Manuel Corpas, who was beginning to round into form, will likely go on the disabled list. Corpas underwent an MRI on Friday that revealed bone chips in his right elbow.
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
