PHOENIX — Great expectations turned into lousy results for the Rockies on Sunday afternoon in their 4-0 loss to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
Expectation: Struggling starter German Marquez would regain his all-star form from last season. It didn’t happen.
Expectation: Colorado’s tepid road offense would heat up, at least enough to challenge Arizona right-hander Zac Gallen. Nope. He pitched seven scoreless innings, gave up only five hits and fanned seven.
Expectation: The Rockies would find a way to win their third road series of the season. Nah. Arizona took two of three games and the Rockies lost on the road for their sixth time in seven games.
Marquez pitched a little bit better than his line indicated. He was charged with four runs (three earned) on six hits over six innings. He flashed some of his old form with seven strikeouts, but he walked four and needed 98 pitches (63 strikes).
Arizona did most of its damage in the second inning. Ketel Marte led off with a double to left, Geraldo Perdomo walked and Nick Ahmed singled in Marte. Marquez struck out Alek Thomas, in Thomas’ first big-league at-bat, but Jose Herrera pulled a two-run double down the first-base line.
Thomas led off the fifth with his first big-league hit, ripping a double to left. Herrera advanced Thomas to third on a sacrifice bunt and then Marquez walked Cooper Hummel. Thomas scored on Marquez’s wild pickoff throw to first, a ball that C.J. Cron got a glove on and perhaps should have caught.
The Rockies managed eight hits in their 4-1 come-from-behind win on Saturday night, but Arizona pitchers dominated them for the most part. Colorado hit .200 (20-for-100) in the three-game series.
The road doesn’t get any easier for the Rockies, who open a three-game series at San Francisco on Monday night. The Rockies were 4-15 vs. the Giants last season, including a 2-8 record at Oracle Park.
