Colorado Rockies Beat Cardinals 11-1, Avoid Sweep: 3 Takeaways

The Colorado Rockies beat the Wild Card-contending St. Louis Cardinals 11-1 to avoid the sweep, and they finish this homestand 4-2. Here are three takeaways from the game.

Terrific first career start for German Marquez

Marquez made his first MLB career start this afternoon for the Rockies, and he held a red-hot Cardinals lineup in check for five innings. Marquez’ line:

5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 82 pitches (50 for strikes).

Other than giving up his lone run on a sacrifice fly to Kolten Wong, Marquez was brilliant. His curveball was especially nasty today, giving the Cardinals hitters fits. Even though he was probably nervous on the inside, on the outside he looked like a seasoned veteran and he was allowed the luxury of an early big lead after Nolan Arenado‘s fourth-career grand slam in the bottom of the second, which gave the Rockies a five-run cushion.

Tom Murphy is on a tear

Murphy hasn’t had a lot of time at the plate since his call-up, but he has made the most of his time when he is there. Murphy hit his fifth home run (a three-run shot) in the seventh-inning off Jonathan Broxton, which came in just his 29th-career MLB at-bat.

Since his call-up, Murphy is hitting .320 with 11 RBI, an OBP of .370 and an absurd OPS of 1.170. He also continued his good work behind the plate, calling an effective game for Marquez (he also caught Jon Gray‘s 16 K performance last Saturday) which kept the Cardinals hitters to just eight hits (two doubles, six singles).

Rockies bullpen didn’t implode

The bullpen were efficient today and didn’t give up any needless runs in a big lead. Chris Rusin pitched two innings, only allowing two hits whilst striking out five with good command of both sides of the plate and an effective slider.

Jordan Lyles and Matt Carasiti each pitched an inning, and Lyles struck out three and Carasiti for once didn’t give up a run, though there was a runner on third when he recorded the final out on a high chopper.

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Today was a good day for the team to get back on the winning track and the offense was outstanding again with 11 runs scored on just 12 hits, including doubles by the red-hot duo of Charlie Blackmon and DJ LeMahieu. The pitching was much improved over the first two games of the series, with quick outs recorded and a much better command of the strike zone.

Next: Colorado Rockies Countdown: Top Five Center Fielders

The Rockies head to LA to play a four-game series against the Dodgers starting tomorrow night at 8:10 p.m. MT. Tyler Chatwood takes the hill for the Rockies, and he will face off against the Dodgers’ Brett Anderson.