Colorado Rockies: Trevor Story on defensive gems during Márquez no-hit bid

It is often said that every no-hitter involves a remarkable defensive play in the midst of it unfolding. For a time on Tuesday night, it looked like Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story would provide “the play” as Germán Márquez flirted with a no-hitter at Coors Field.

Trevor Story talks about two defensive plays he made as Germán Márquez of the Colorado Rockies was throwing a no-hitter.

With the Pittsburgh Pirates still not having registered a hit against Márquez, catcher Jacob Stallings led off the eighth inning. He barreled a 2-2 slider that seemed destined to land in front of left fielder Raimel Tapia. However, just as the crowd held its collective breath with the ball screaming toward the Coors Field grass, Story pulled off one of the most remarkable leaps of his career.

It was the first of three outs in the eighth and pushed the no-hit bid for Márquez to the ninth, where Ka’ai Tom would eventually break up the no-hitter with a single to right to lead off the final frame.

But what about that magical leap? Did Story think that was going to be “the play?”

“I was hoping that for sure,” Story told me in an exclusive chat. “We’re all out there trying to make plays for our guys.”

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So Story can dunk a basketball, but was the leap in the eighth inning one of his highest ever?

“I got a little more in the tank,” Story smiled.

While Story’s mad hops will be shown on highlight reels for years to come, there was another difficult play one inning earlier that the All-Star shortstop made look easier than it really was.

Leading off the seventh, Ke’Bryan Hayes took a 1-0 pitch up the middle. However, the ball caught the edge of the pitcher’s mound, forcing Story to adjust as he fielded the grounder and make the throw to first to just get the speedy Hayes.

“Yeah it was really weird,” Story said of the hop the ball took off Hayes’ bat. “It kind of hit the lip of the edge of the mound and the grass. As it caught the lip, I turned right to field it. The hop brought second base into play so I had to watch that, but I also know Hayes could run so I was just trying to field it and get rid of it.”

As much as I wanted to talk to Story about his plays on Tuesday night, he was quick to bring up a play from Joshua Fuentes on the second pitch of the game. Pittsburgh leadoff hitter Adam Frazier roped a fastball down the first base line, but Fuentes dove to snag the liner.

Little did Rockies fans know just how big the play would be as the game went along.

“I think a lot of guys look past that play,” Story told me about Fuentes’ diving stop. “That was hidden early in the game, but that was a big stop.”

So when does Story really start comprehending the potential no-hitter evolving from Márquez?

“I think, for me, it was around the sixth inning I really started to notice,” Story said. “You could tell he was dominating, but then you lose track of the hits. When we got to the sixth, there was something instinctual to check and see what was going on.”