Márquez was good, but the offense couldn’t solve Hendricks
It was a rare sight at Coors Field as the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Angels entered a fast-paced pitchers’ duel. The game lasted just a little over two hours as the veteran right-handed starters for both teams cruised through the game. However, it would be three solo home runs that netted the Angels a 3-0 victory.
Throwback Germán
In what could be the final Coors Field start with the Rockies, Germán Márquez turned back the clock a bit to deliver one of his best performances this season. While he wasn’t blowing the heater past the Angels, Márquez’s mix was working across the board for him as he spotted the fastball well and utilized the knuckle curve effectively.
He cruised through seven innings, throwing 84 total pitches with 60 going for strikes. He induced six groundouts and six flyouts while also recording five strikeouts against one walk. The seven-inning performance helped Márquez surpass Jorge De La Rosa for the third-most innings pitched in franchise history with 1,142.
Unfortunately for Márquez, the blemishes on his outing proved critical as he allowed two runs on four hits.
In the top of the second inning, Taylor Ward clobbered a hanging knuckle curve to give the Angels a 1-0 lead. Later in the top of the sixth, Nolan Schanuel crushed a high fastball to extend the Angels’ lead 2-0. The other two hits given up by Márquez were to Logan O’Hoppe, who had a single and a double.
If this proves to truly be the last home start for Márquez in a Rockies uniform, it was a testament to what made him so good in Colorado when he was at the top of his game.
Hendricks dominates
Márquez was good, but unfortunately, it was Kyle Hendricks who came out on top in the duel. Hendricks kept the Rockies lineup off balance all night as he also breezed through seven innings, giving up just three hits while striking out five. He did so on 85 pitches with 57 strikes, utilizing eight groundouts and four flyouts.
The Rockies managed just four hard-hit balls against Hendricks as the changeup did its job, inducing weak contact. He surrendered just three hits, all of which were singles to the middle of the Rockies lineup. Like Márquez, it was a vintage performance for the veteran, who has struggled this season.
Trout’s 400th
Jaden Hill entered the game for the Rockies in the top of the eighth and quickly struck out the first two batters he faced. With two outs, the rookie was tasked with facing one of the greatest players in MLB history, Mike Trout.
Coming into the at-bat, Trout was 0-for-1 with a walk and had reached via catcher’s interference. He had looked late on everything and had just one home run in his last 36 games, which was the longest streak in his career without one or fewer home runs.
Hunting that elusive 400th career home run, Trout got a 3-1 fastball from Hill that he did not miss.
Trout blasted the ball 115 mph off the bat for a distance of 485 feet to give the Angels a definitive 3-0 lead. He becomes the 59th player in MLB history to hit 400 or more home runs, breaking a tie with Al Kaline and former Rockies legend Andres Galarraga.
LoDo magic falls through
The Rockies’ offense had struggled to string anything together, but the team has shown plenty of times in the second half that they refuse to quit and Saturday was no different.
Facing Luis García as the closer, the Rockies managed to load the bases with one out after Mickey Moniak and Hunter Goodman each singled and Blaine Crim drew a walk.
Unfortunately, García got Jordan Beck to bounce a ball to third, setting up an easy game-ending double play. The magic started brewing but was quickly snuffed out.
Up Next
The Rockies will say farewell to Coors Field in 2025 with one final game on Sunday. Kyle Freeland (4-16, 5.14 ERA) will take the ball for Colorado, while the Angels have not yet announced a starter.
First pitch is at 1:10 p.m. MDT. See you then!
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Category: General Sports
