The Colorado Rockies’ nine-game road trip was a tale of two teams.
Against the Dodgers, they went 0-3, losing all three in walk-off fashion. Rounding out the trip, they went 4-1 against both the Diamondbacks and Giants, including their latest 6-3 win over the latter. The club finished the nine-game stretch at 5-4.
Despite the winning trip, the Rockies are still double-digit games behind the first-place Dodgers in the National League West standings. Their second-place deficit is the biggest across the league between the top two teams of any division.
Ahead are takeaways from the victory
Dahl continues power surge in grand fashion
Prior to Sunday’s walk-off loss to the Dodgers, David Dahl had three home runs in his last 22 games. In the four games since, he’s hit three, including another opposite-field shot Wednesday.
After setting the Rockies down in order in the first two innings, Jeff Samardzija encountered trouble in the third. Two walks and a single loaded the bases for Dahl. The addition of a down-the-middle fastball was all that was needed to reach a four-run sum:
HE GOT DAHL OF THAT. pic.twitter.com/xv311gWuLv
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) June 26, 2019
The grand slam was the second of Dahl’s young career, with his other coming last year against the Diamondbacks. It was also the first time in franchise history that a player has hit a long ball with the bases loaded in San Francisco.
Dating back to May 12, Dahl is hitting .331 with seven home runs and 32 runs driven in, including his career-high five RBI on Wednesday. He joined D.J. LeMahieu as the only two Rockies’ hitters to rack up five RBIs in a single game in San Francisco.
Marquez suffers a letdown after dominant first outing in San Francisco
It was never going to be easy for German Marquez to best his last outing on the road against the Giants. Earlier in the year, he threw a complete-game shutout and tallied the second best game score in franchise history (94).
On the year, the superb showing has played a pivotal role in Marquez’ 3.06 earned run average on the road.
The results were far more muddled early in his latest attempt.
In the first inning alone, Marquez allowed four base runners. Of the six balls put in play by the Giants, three had an exit velocity over 95 miles per hour.
After a two-run inaugural frame, the hurler settled down. In the next four stanzas, he allowed only one run and struck out a pair. In all, Marquez went five innings and allowed three runs (two earned) and seven hits.
The outing was a change of pace from three of his previous four starts in which Marquez had allowed four-or-more runs.
Across the league, only five ballparks have averaged fewer runs than Oracle Park’s 0.821 according to ESPN’s Park Factors. Despite a pitcher-friendly venue, Marquez’ inefficiency disabled him for registering a quality start.
For the Rockies’ hopes of competing, Jon Gray and Marquez have to lead the way. A rebound effort in the win, from the latter, can’t hurt.
McMahon’s slide continues with another multiple-whiff contest
Ryan McMahon’s surge in the middle of June served as a catalyst for Brendan Rodgers’ demotion to Triple-A Albuquerque. With the latter now relegated to the injured list, the former has slumped.
In his last six games, the second baseman has racked up 14 strikeouts and only one hit across 23 at-bats. The span even included a run of six consecutive plate appearances with a punchout.
Prior to the rough patch, McMahon had .390 across his last 10 games.
The roller coaster ways of young hitters are nothing new. Without Trevor Story in the lineup and Ian Desmond ailing, another hot streak is needed from McMahon for the Rockies.
Giants’ relievers have their reign of terror snapped
Without any household names, the Giants’ bullpen has thrived this year. Against the Rockies, those successes dated back to last year.
In the previous 34 innings against the Giants’ bullpen in Oracle Park, Rockies’ hitters had failed to score a single run. Breaking up the absence of scoring was the aforementioned Dahl on a run-scoring single in the seventh.
Coincidentally, the man who was responsible for allowing the run was Colorado native, Mark Melancon.
The former Golden High School standout, after the blunder, carries a 3.58 ERA through his first 31 appearances of 2019. He missed half of each of the last two campaigns with various ailments.