Vaudeville comedian W.C. Fields once said, “Philadelphia, wonderful town, spent a week there one night.”
Not to take a shot at the City of Brotherly Love, Rocky Balboa, or cheesesteaks, for that matter, but the Rockies can relate.
Their long, painful Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park began with two ugly errors in the second inning, included another subpar start by right-hander German Marquez and ended with the Phillies cruising to a 10-3 victory.
Philadelphia has won the first two games of the four-game set.
The Rockies’ first two runs came off the bat of Charlie Blackmon, who hit a two-out, solo homer to right field off starter Zach Eflin in the sixth, and a solo shot off of Andrew Bellatti in the eighth. Blackmon now has four home runs, three of them coming on the current road trip.
Eflin handcuffed Colorado, allowing just two hits in his six frames. Colorado had six hits total.
Marquez, who fell to 0-1 and saw his ERA rise to 5.57, was gone after just 3 2/3 innings, the Phillies tagging him for seven runs (four earned) on seven hits. He struck out only one.
The right-hander continues to struggle with his fastball. Five of the Phillies’ seven hits came off Marquez’s fastball, and of the 28 hits he’s surrendered in his four starts, 20 have been on fastballs.
Unfortunately for Marquez, the Rockies’ sloppy defense put him in an early hole.
In the second inning, third baseman Ryan McMahon threw wildly to second base, wiping out a double play and opening the door for the Phillies’ three-run inning. McMahon, who committed just seven errors all of last season — five at third base, two at second — has committed three errors in the last two games.
A wild pitch by Marquez and a subsequent throwing error by catcher Dom Nunez back to the plate allowed Alex Bohm and Didi Gregorious to score without a hit, putting Philly ahead, 3-0.
Marquez’s night ended with the Phillies’ four-run fourth. They banged out four hits in the inning, including an RBI double by Odubel Herrera, an RBI single by Jean Segura, and a run-scoring double by Rhy Hoskins.
Herrera also hit a two-run homer off long reliever Jhoulys Chacin in a three-run sixth. Chacin, so effective for much of last season, has an 8.10 ERA after giving up three runs on three hits and two walks over two innings.
The Rockies sniffed a chance to fire up a rally in the seventh by loading the bases on a double by C.J. Cron, a walk by McMahon, and a single by Jose Iglesias. But Nick Nelson struck out Nunez to end the threat.
Colorado tagged on a run in the ninth on Igelesias’ bloop RBI double to right.
Bryant’s slump. Left fielder Kris Bryant was a late scratch prior to Tuesday’s game because of tightness in his lower back. Bryant, who signed a seven-year, $182 million free-agent deal, is 1-for-14 on the current road trip, with four strikeouts and two walks.
He snapped an 0-for-16 slide with a single on Monday night. Bryant, who has yet to hit a home run in a Rockies uniform, is batting .056 (1-for-18) with runners in scoring position.
Footnotes. Leadoff hitter Connor Joe went 0-for-5 and saw his career-long hitting streak end at 12 games. His streak was the longest active streak in the majors. … Second baseman Brendan Rodgers’ slump continued. He went 0-for-3 (and was hit by a pitch) and is now hitting .078 (4-for-51), with one RBI. … Blackmon’s homers were his ninth and 10th at Citizens Bank Park. Only one other Rockies player hit 10-plus home runs at a road venue against a non-divisional opponent. That was Hall of Famer Larry Walker who hit 10 homers for Colorado at the old Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
