DENVER – Rockies right-handed pitcher Germán Márquez is reuniting with an old friend – his curveball.
Márquez came into this season finally healthy after undergoing Tommy John right elbow surgery in 2023 and being limited to one start last year. But the first two months of this season have been largely a frustrating search for the proper delivery and pitches that cut the air in the proper shape to make them hard to hit.
But Thursday’s seven strong innings – five strikeouts, two runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks – in a 2-0 loss to the Phillies at Coors Field was Márquez’s second more-like-it effort in the past three.
Márquez limited the Padres to one run on three hits and one walk in seven innings of a 9-3 victory at Coors on May 11. He returned to the struggle bus in between – seven runs (five earned) in three innings during a Rockies road win at Arizona on Saturday.
However, the two home successes made Márquez the first Rockies starter to throw at least seven innings and hold opponents to one earned run or fewer in consecutive home starts since he did it May 21-June 1, 2021 – the year he was a National League All-Star.
The Rockies dropped to 8-42, the worst 50-game start since 1900, because they left 10 on base. The top five hitters in the lineup had all seven hits. However, Márquez is embracing the mantra that the Rockies will make headway.
“I feel like every day is our day, and we have to go out there and do the best to win,” said Márquez, who is at the end of a two-year, $20 million contract extension and could be dealt for players who can quicken a turnaround if he continues surging. “I feel we need to be together, and I feel we’re closer to that point.”
On Thursday, all but one of Márquez’s strikeouts came on the bender, which he throws with a knuckle-curve grip.
Work with pitching coach Darryl Scott and bullpen coach Dustin Garneau has helped Márquez regain the shape of the curve.
“When I throw a first-pitch strike with the fastball, I feel everything changes,” Márquez said. “I can feel my arm speed, and the curve is back.”