The Rockies would have loved to send Germán Márquez off with a win, but it was not to be. Trevor McDonald and the Giants took control early and never let go, putting Colorado down without much fanfare
on Friday.
Willy A-Bomb-as
One of the issues plaguing Germán Márquez this season has been his propensity for allowing the long ball, having allowed a team-high 22 home runs entering Friday’s contest. That number increased in the bottom of the first inning when, after a Rafael Devers walk, Willy Adames worked to a full count before pounding a low-and-in fastball out into the left field stands, just barely hooking fair.
Adames’s 29th round-tripper of the season gave San Francisco the early 2-0 advantage.
Márquez has allowed at least one home run in each of his last 11 starts.
Heliot Ramos would then add a three-run shot of his own in the very next inning, dropping Colorado into an early 5-run hole. Things weren’t off to a great start.
Tovar to the rescue
The game was looking bleak entering the middle innings. Márquez had begun to settle down, but Trevor McDonald was mowing his way through Colorado’s lineup with nary an issue. Inducing plenty of swings and misses, it seemed the young right-hander would send the Rockies packing without any significant opposition at all.
That all changed in the top of the fifth, though. Brenton Doyle got things going with a leadoff single, moving to second on Braxton Fulford’s subsequent knock. Both moved up 90 feet when McDonald, seemingly starting to unravel a pit, tossed a pitch wide of catcher Patrick Bailey. After Ryan Ritter struck out, it seemed Colorado might miss out on the golden scoring opportunity, but Ezequiel Tovar came through with a huge, clutch home run to get his team on the board.
Tovar’s ninth big fly of 2025 got the Rockies back in the game, but could they keep the momentum swung in their favor?
End of an era
After Tovar’s shot, there’s nothing Germán Márquez would have liked more than to set down the Giants in order and get his offense back in action. Unfortunately, that wasn’t in the cards, as after taking care of Devers to begin the bottom of the fifth inning, Márquez plunked Adames and allowed a single to Matt Chapman, putting runners at the corners with one out.
Manager Warren Schaeffer had to make the tough decision to remove Márquez from the game, in all likelihood ending the Rockies tenure of the Venezuelan right-hander. Jaden Hill entered and recorded a sacrifice fly out of Bryce Eldridge and regular fly out of Casey Schmitt.
Márquez’s final line stood at 4 1/3 innings, five hits, six runs (all earned), and three walks, to one lone strikeout. More than that, though, he leaves as Colorado’s all-time leader in strikeouts and strikeouts-to-walks. He ends with a bWAR of 16.8, 13th-most amongst any Rockie, and he finds himself near the top in virtually all pitching categories. Though this season didn’t end up how he would have liked it too, there’s no question that Germán Márquez has had an effective stint in Denver, and regardless of where he ends up next, he can hang his head high knowing he accomplished so much in purple pinstripes.
Give Jung some Lee-way
Look, there weren’t a whole lot of Rockies highlights in this one, so let’s add some levity.
In the top of the eighth inning, Hunter Goodman entered the batter’s box with Ezequiel Tovar on first base with one out. Goodman sent a can of corn out to center field, caught with ease by Jung Hoo Lee. Pretty pedestrian play, right?
Well, not quite. Lee, seemingly unaware of how many outs the Giants had amassed, tossed the ball into the center field stands, allowing Tovar to move up to third base as the play was deemed an error. It didn’t end up mattering, as Blaine Crim struck out to end the inning, but hey, it was kinda funny.
Sadly, that was all the fun to be had. The Rockies just couldn’t get a grip on McDonald’s repertoire as, other than Tovar’s dinger, the young righty allowed virtually no other offense as he cruised through his seven innings of work. Colorado’s bullpen pitched well (3 2/3 scoreless, hitless innings), but it wasn’t enough as the Rox fell for the 117th time this year.
Up Next
Just two games remain. The Rockies and Giants will duke it out once more on Saturday afternoon, which will see Colorado’s Kyle Freeland (5-16, 5.00 ERA) take on first-ballot Hall of Famer Justin Verlander (3-11, 3.88 ERA).
That game begins at 2:05pm MDT. See you then!
