German Marquez looked sharp through three scoreless innings on Wednesday at Coors Field, throwing 31 of 39 pitches for strikes while allowing just one hit and striking out four.
But his outing was cut short by an ejection for the right-hander’s role in the third inning, benches-clearing fight in which Marquez shoved his way into the scrum and threw a towel in the face of a Padres player.
“No doubt (I’m frustrated),” Marquez said postgame. “I was really throwing the ball well and felt like I could have gone deep into the game.”
The Rockies will have to wait until next week to see if Marquez (0-1, 4.97 ERA), who was previously blasted for seven runs by Atlanta in the home opener, is finding his rhythm as Wednesday’s first few innings indicated.
Here are five other takeaways from the game:
No. 1:¾ٳ a 6-4 win over San Diego, the Rockies snapped their first three-game losing streak of the year to improve to 6-7 — still their worst start to a season since going 5-8 to open 2009. But they avoided the sweep, and there is traction to be had heading into a seven-game road trip.
No. 2: Last year, the Rockies led all of baseball by hitting .284 with two outs and runners in scoring position. They haven’t been nearly as clutch in that scenario through 13 games in 2018, hitting a collective .143 to rank second-to-last in the MLB.
No. 3: A pair of role players made their impact felt in Wednesday’s lineup. Ryan McMahon made his second start at first base and recorded his first hit this year, going 1-for-3 with a walk, while Tony Wolters played catcher and was 1-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.
No. 4: Following the brawl, Ian Desmond finished Nolan Arenado’s at-bat in the third. Later, Pat Valaika hit for German Marquez and then Tyler Anderson — the Rockies’ starting pitcher on Tuesday who sports a .076 career average — hit for Gerardo Parra, striking out in four pitches.
No. 5: The Colorado bullpen put up another strong showing. After No. 6 starter Antonio Senzatela came in for Marquez and allowed two runs in three innings, Adam Ottavino, Jake McGee and Wade Davis held the Padres at bay. Davis recorded his fifth save.
