Colorado Rockies: Germán Márquez named to All-Star Game

By Kevin Henry | Jul 4, 2021

Jun 29, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher German Marquez (48) celebrates defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Germán Márquez will be the lone representative from the team when the 91st Major League Baseball All-Star Game is held at Coors Field on July 13.

Márquez, who made the start on Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals in the final game of a seven-game homestand, will be the eighth Colorado pitcher (and sixth starter) to earn an All-Star Game nod.

Acquired in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on January 28, 2016, Márquez had put together an impressive run heading into Sunday’s start. In his three previous starts, he went 3-0 with an 0.39 ERA and, in 23 innings during that span, Márquez has allowed just four hits while walking four and striking out 14. With the recent effort, he became just the third pitcher in MLB history to pitch at least 23 innings and allow one or fewer runs and four or fewer hits over a three-start span (Johnny Vander Meer (1938) and Rube Marquard (1911) are the other two pitchers to accomplish the feat).

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Márquez struck out two of the first three batters he faced on Sunday, but ran into trouble in the second inning with Matt Carpenter leading off the inning with a single and Harrison Bader turning a two-strike pitch into a two-run homer.

That, however, would be the only mistake for Márquez through the first five innings as he kept the Cardinals off-balance, registering a season-high nine strikeouts through those frames.

He would then strike out Carpenter to lead off the sixth for his 10th strikeout of the game, marking the 10th time he had had 10 or more whiffs in a game.

Márquez would finish with 11 strikeouts while walking just one batter and allowing five hits. In his 95 pitches on Sunday, 60 went for strikes as he dropped his ERA to 3.59.

With his first-ever All-Star Game selection, Márquez becomes the first Colorado starting pitcher to earn an invitation since Ubaldo Jiménez, who started the game for the National League in 2010. He is also the first Rockies pitcher to appear in the Midsummer Classic since closer Greg Holland in 2017.

Colorado is hosting the All-Star Game for the first time since 1998 and will have just one player participating in the game for the first time since 2012 when Carlos González started for the National League as the designated hitter.

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With Márquez making the start on Sunday, he was unavailable to the media before the contest. However, we will update this article with quotes from manager Bud Black and Márquez, as well as updated statistics below once Sunday’s game is complete.

UPDATE: Bud Black said that he did not tell Márquez about his All-Star Game selection before Sunday’s game, even though they knew well before he would take the mound. Black said his pitcher was in a good spot mentally getting prepared for the game and asked a number of people within the organization, including owner Dick Monfort, for their thoughts on telling Márquez. They all decided it was best to wait, and Black broke the news to him after his day was done.

Black said they feel like “proud papas” for Márquez being rewarded (deservedly so, Black says) with the All-Star Game berth.

“Six innings, two runs. It’s a solid start against a really good team,” Black says of Márquez on the mound on Sunday.

Márquez now on Zoom. Says among the people who share the honor of his All-Star Game bid are the baseball fans of Venezuela, his home country.

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