DENVER -- Rockies starting pitcher Germán Márquez yielded seven runs on 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings Tuesday night, to see his ERA rise slightly, to 9.82.
Márquez’s fastball command was improved over his previous four starts. While some fastballs didn’t reach the desired spots, Márquez felt better out of his modified delivery and some damage occurred on hits to unoccupied areas and defensive plays not made.
“I changed my delivery a little bit, and I felt good,” Márquez said. “Everything was right there, but sloppy hits. I have to take it and keep going.”
In another place or time -- February and most of March -- that would have been considered progress.
But this isn’t a context-free Spring Training report, although in many ways the Rockies’ 8-2 loss to the Braves had such a feel. But those are evergreen and Colorado native plants behind the center-field wall at Coors Field, not cacti, which means it counted – and added to a historically poor start to the season.
The result left the Rockies 4-25 – tied with the 2003 Tigers and the 1988 Orioles for the worst 29-game beginning since 1900. The Rockies’ 1-16 run is the worst 17-game stretch in club history, and this is their second eight-game losing streak.
Getting back on two feet from this will take some digging for the Rockies. It’s the same for Márquez, who is having a hard time regaining his once top-of-the-rotation form after undergoing Tommy John right elbow surgery in 2023.
“Too many pitches in the middle of the plate, from my vantage point,” said Rockies manager Bud Black, whose team got a second-inning solo homer from Michael Toglia. “He was throwing strikes, with just one walk. He had a number of 0-2 counts. Overall, the damage was pitches in the middle, whether it’s fastball, slider, curve. He just couldn’t get consistently to the edges.”
The 28 earned runs Márquez has yielded over the last five starts mark the worst five-game stretch of his career. And unlike the early few series of this season, when the offense was the clear culprit, the rotation is struggling as a whole.
But 60 strikes in 86 pitches against the Braves, who have won nine of their last 11, is something of a foothold for Márquez. Like the Rockies, he can’t chalk up March/April as practice games. But he can look toward something better.
“I’ve been battling,” Márquez said. “It’s kind of frustrating, but every outing is an opportunity to make a good start. I don’t have the results. I have to keep working and get better.”
The game started with the Braves’ Alex Verdugo singling past third base, with Ryan McMahon shifted toward the middle. Márquez escaped with a double-play grounder.
In the second inning, Rockies second baseman Kyle Farmer slid to field Matt Olson’s grounder, but could not make the play at first base. That meant Michael Harris II’s double, after Sean Murphy’s double, accounted for two runs instead of one.
The final run off Márquez was less on him. Two-time Gold Glove center fielder Brenton Doyle sped into left-center for Olson’s long line drive, the way he has many other times. However, left fielder Jordan Beck didn’t slow down, and Doyle had to pull off the catch to preserve himself. The play, one that should not happen at home in the regular season, ended with Doyle giving a sideways glance and a pained expression.
“Sloppy? If that ball drops between them and nobody goes after it, yes,” Black said. “But when there’s the center fielder calling it and the left fielder might’ve called it early … it’s loud, and that’s distracting. Those guys haven’t played together a ton, so that’s probably part of it."
Olson got a double and scored on Mickey Moniak’s fielding error in right field on Ozzie Albies’ single.
“Their familiarity with each other is not strong," Black said. "I think it will be if Jordan continues to play like he does. He has a chance to be a regular, everyday player in left field and that will clean up, for sure.”
Márquez’s lack of pinpoint sharpness showed in the three-run fourth, against a Braves offense that seems to deliver the right kinds of swings -- three runs on three singles and a walk. Trailing 3-1, Márquez left an 0-2 pitch to Nick Allen up, and the two-run double deflated the Rockies.
“Man, we have to keep battling,” Márquez said. “I feel we’re going to get out of this situation.”