SEATTLE — Growing up in San Felix, Venezuela, German Marquez idolized “King Felix” Hernandez, the Mariners’ all-time leader in wins and strikeouts. For Marquez, the thought of facing off against the Venezuelan baseball legend in a major-league game was a bit daunting.
Sensing that, Rockies manager Bud Black had some words of wisdom for Marquez: “This is your stage, too.”
Indeed it was.
Marquez, 23, out-dueled Hernandez Friday night in Colorado’s 7-1 win over Seattle at Safeco Field. It was the resurgent Rockies’ seventh victory in their last eight games. The Mariners entered the game having won nine of their last 10.
“I’m extremely proud,” Marquez said. “Felix is one of the best Venezuelan pitchers ever. To be able to face him and beat him is a dream come true.”
Marquez pitched six innings, striking out five and walking none. The lone blemish came on Denard Span’s home run to right field in the sixth. Marquez improved to 7-8 and reduced his road ERA to 2.62, fourth-best in the National League.
Marquez’s telling moment came in the Mariners’ fourth inning. Back-to-back singles by Jean Segura and Span put Marquez on the ropes, but he struck out Nelson Cruz with a killer slider and did the same to Kyle Seager.
“German has the ability to spin the ball and create different angles with the break, so he’s capable of throwing that kind of slider,” Black said. “That’s a momentum changer if they get a big hit there, but German kept the ball down to those two fellas.”
Friday night provided further evidence that Colorado’s young rotation is starting to come into its own. Over their last 10 games, Rockies starters have posted a 1.82 ERA
Hernandez, who owns a 5.13 ERA, lasted just five innings, getting touched for three runs on eight hits and a home run.
Co-starring for Colorado was catcher Tony Wolters. He wasn’t even supposed to start the game, but when Tom Murphy abruptly left Seattle to return to Denver to be with his wife, Lindsay, for the birth of their child, Wolters got the call. He responded with an RBI triple in the Rockies’ two-run second inning and added a two-run triple in a three-run sixth as Colorado pushed its lead to 6-0.
Wolters became the first Rockies catcher to ever hit two triples in the same game.
“That’s pretty cool,” he said. “It felt good. I was happy that I connected with the ball and did something for the team offensively.”
Moreover, he became the first Rockies player to do it since Trevor Story on April 23, 2016, vs. San Francisco, and the first Rockie to do it on the road since Cory Sullivan, on April 9, 2006, at San Diego. In that memorable game, Sullivan had two triples in the top of the fifth inning.
With three catchers on Colorado’s roster, Wolters’ playing time has been limited lately, but he took a fresh approach into Friday’s game.
“I was just trying to play some backyard baseball and hit the ball,” he said. “I tried to simplify it to where I’m just seeing the ball and putting the barrel on it.”
Wolters also threw out the speedy Dee Gordon trying to steal second base in the first inning, and in the sixth, Wolters chased down a dirt ball and fed the ball to Marquez, who tagged out Gordon at home plate.
“That was a curveball that ‘Marky’ threw about 12 feet,” Wolters said with a chuckle. “I think it hit off my stomach on the right side … And ‘Marky,’ he’s such a good athlete, he took two steps and he was already at home plate. I threw the ball to him and he made a really sweet tag.”
Black was thrilled to see Wolter’s come through.
“Tony had a really good game,” Black said. “The two triples were a (big) part of our offense and he contributed there. He caught German very well. He stuck some pitches that I think were probably borderline, but that we got some calls on — which was great, and something Tony does so well.”
Colorado struck quickly against Hernandez, with Charlie Blackmon hitting a one-out, solo home run in the first, Blackmon’s 16th long ball of the season. Blackmon, who had been mired in a slump, is starting to heat up. In the recent three-game sweep of the Giants at Coors Field, he hit 5-for-12 with a homer. Friday, he batted 3-for-5 boosting his average to .280.
