PHILADELPHIA ¨C Rockies right-hander Germán Márquez saved his fastest pitch of the first day of his true return to the mound for last.
M¨¢rquez blew a 98.2 mph four-seam fastball, his fastest of the game, past J.T. Realmuto for the strikeout ¨C his fourth ¨C that ended his six scoreless innings, then let out a triumphant yell.
¡°I was pumped,¡± M¨¢rquez said. ¡°I wanted to get Realmuto with that.
¡°It¡¯s been almost three years since I was bothered with injuries. I feel happy to be back and show that I am where I am.¡±
The sellout home-opener crowd at Citizens Bank Park did most of the yelling an inning later in the Phillies¡¯ 6-1 victory. But a finally healthy M¨¢rquez, who has had a long road since an elbow problem led to Tommy John surgery in 2023, suggested Friday that he¡¯ll be eliciting joyful noises from Rockies fans this season.
Before Monday, M¨¢rquez¡¯s only Major League start since the surgery came last July 14 at New York¡¯s Citi Field. The four-inning reintroduction turned out to be a short one. M¨¢rquez ¨C a key to postseason runs in 2017 and ¡®18 and an All-Star in ¡®21 ¨C returned to the injured list with a stress reaction near the elbow, and he directed his aspirations toward ¡®25.
M¨¢rquez prepared smartly. He went 1-1 with a 5.74 ERA in five Cactus League starts, but more importantly he showed increasingly better placement with his four-seam and two-seam fastballs and curveball, and he developed his other pitches.
¡°As he moved forward in the spring, we saw the confidence grow,¡± Rockies manager Bud Black said. ¡°He had a little bit of a minor setback with his shoulder, which was expected. I mean, he threw the ball hard in his very first Spring Training game.
¡°But he regrouped and really started throwing the ball well. With him, it¡¯s going to come down to fastball command and the two breaking balls. The change is still something that we talk about with Germ¨¢n, especially against the lefties.¡±
On Friday, M¨¢rquez pumped in strikes for 52 of his 83 pitches and expertly set up his slider, with which he put away Realmuto to open the second inning. He used his knuckle-curve to strike out Kyle Schwarber with runners at second and third to end the fifth and to force a weak grounder from Bryce Harper in the sixth.
¡°I have 100% confidence that the pitch was going to work at those times,¡± M¨¢rquez said.
One time through the Rockies¡¯ four-man rotation (with lefty Austin Gomber pitching injury rehab games for Triple-A Albuquerque), the club¡¯s belief that the rotation could be solid is showing itself. M¨¢rquez pitched scoreless ball, as did Opening Day starter Kyle Freeland and righty Antonio Senzatela, both against the Rays. Ryan Feltner allowed two first-inning runs on Sunday vs. Tampa Bay but no more in his five innings.
Two problems have arisen in the Rockies¡¯ 1-3 start:
- The offense, which managed six hits ¨C including Hunter Goodman¡¯s sixth-inning home run ¨C and struck out 13 times on Friday, has exceeded two runs once in its first four games.
- Also, relievers have been handed no margin of error and haven¡¯t pitched well enough. Victor Vodnik was victimized by a walk-off homer on Opening Day in Tampa. After Vodnik left Monday¡¯s game, Bradley Blalock surrendered consecutive homers to Max Kepler and Nick Castellanos in the eighth.
But M¨¢rquez said the starting staff, which has dealt with multiple injuries as the team has lost more than 100 games each of the past two seasons, is experienced enough to carry the team until improvement comes in other areas.
¡°We¡¯re going to show that we can be the best out there,¡± M¨¢rquez said. ¡°Everything¡¯s going to come together.
¡°We haven¡¯t been healthy, and it¡¯s hard to be out pitching with pain. Now we feel good, and we¡¯re going to pitch good games.¡±