German Marquez rebounds big time as Rockies blast Phillies

There are miniature moments that overgarment the large representation of a player’s season.

Case successful point: German Marquez’s strikeout of Bryce Harper successful the 5th inning of the Rockies’ 11-2 triumph implicit the Phillies Friday nighttime astatine Citizens Bank Park.

With 2 connected and 2 out, Harper, Philly’s National League MVP candidate, worked Marquez to a 3-2 count. But Marquez struck retired Harper swinging astatine a wicked 85.5 mph knuckle-curve to sphere Colorado’s 4-0 lead. Marquez admit that the juices were flowing erstwhile helium fanned Harper.

“Harper is simply a unsafe guy, truthful I knew that I had to onslaught retired this feline oregon enactment him away. It was a large infinitesimal for me,” said Marquez, who whittled his ERA to 3.93 aft 29 starts.

Manager Bud Black called the Harper strikeout, “The at-bat of the nighttime … That was the cardinal infinitesimal for German, for us, and we felt it successful the dugout.”

Added Black: “Overall, I thought helium was pitching (tonight) and not ‘out-stuffing’ the opponent.”

Marquez’s bounce-back show paved the mode for the road-challenged Rockies to instrumentality their 2nd consecutive crippled astatine Philadelphia. The Rockies deed 3 homers, including a expansive slam by catcher Elias Diaz successful the ninth.

“The 2 biggest things for maine are maintaining a coagulated program astatine the sheet and conscionable keeping things arsenic elemental arsenic possible,” said Diaz, whose 17 homers are the astir by a Rockies catcher since Wilin Rosario deed 19 successful 2013.

Colorado was connected the brink of its archetypal shutout successful Philadelphia since Sept. 12, 2007, until Didi Gregorius deed a solo homer disconnected Ben Bowden successful the ninth and Harper delivered an RBI single.

The Phillies’ wild-card playoff hopes are fading fast. With a 71-70 record, they are present 4 games down San Diego for the National League’s 2nd wild-card spot. The Padres were playing astatine the Los Angeles Dodgers precocious Friday night.

Marquez, a first-time all-star who’s connected way to beryllium the champion starting pitcher successful Rockies history, entered the crippled successful a definite funk. Over his past 5 starts, he’d carried a 7.77 ERA with 8 location runs allowed. Batters were hitting 12-for-26 with runners successful scoring presumption against the righty during that span.

But Marquez was crisp Friday night, pitching six scoreless innings, allowing six hits, striking retired six and walking one.

“I’m ever looking for that small happening that I americium missing,” Marquez said. “I spent a batch of clip successful the bullpen looking for that small happening that volition marque maine better.

“It was my tempo and I person been moving with ‘Fostie’ (pitching manager Stever Foster) and (bullpen coach) Daryll Scott to get my tempo right. So contiguous was good.”

Colorado’s road-challenged offense, meanwhile, strung unneurotic a fig of bully at-bats, thing that’s been the Rockies’ extremity since outpouring training. The Rockies finished the nighttime with 10 hits and deed 6-for-10 with runners successful scoring position.

In Colorado’s three-run second, Diaz and Colton Welker drew one-out walks disconnected of lefty Bailey Falter. Sam Hilliard drove successful Diaz with a azygous and Yonathan Daza’s hustle treble brought location Welker. Cam Bedrosian relieved Falter and instantly gave up an RBI azygous to Marquez, who drove successful his seventh tally of the season.

Charlie Blackmon’s run-scoring azygous made it 4-0 successful the fourth. Back-to-back solo homers by Trevor Story and C.J. Cron disconnected Ramon Rosso made it 6-0 successful the seventh. Story’s homer was his 20th, portion Cron blasted his 27th, this 1 a 437-footer to left.

Cron, who is scheduled to go a escaped cause astatine the extremity of the season, is conscionable 3 homers abbreviated of the career-high 30 helium deed with Tampa Bay successful 2018. He besides delivered an RBI azygous successful the ninth for his 82nd RBI of the season, extending his career-high.

The 2 clubs hook up for the 3rd crippled of the four-game bid connected Saturday night.