German Marquez allowed three hits over 7 2/3 sharp innings and Connor Joe had two hits and scored the game’s lone run as the Colorado Rockies snapped a three-game losing streak with a 1-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday in Minneapolis.
It was the third win in the past four starts for Marquez (4-5), who walked five and struck out two. He got 12 groundball outs and got the Twins, who lost for the fifth time in seven games, to hit into three double plays.
Daniel Bard took over for Marquez and pitched 1 1/3 innings of hitless relief to pick up his 15th save.
Dylan Bundy (4-4), who needed just 18 pitches to register his first seven outs, was the hard-luck loser. He allowed one run on four hits over six innings while walking two and striking out two.
Colorado got the decisive run in the sixth inning.
Joe singled with one out and then advanced to third on a hit-and-run single by Yonathan Daza. Charlie Blackmon then drove in Joe with a fielder’s-choice grounder up the middle, easily beating shortstop Carlos Correa’s throw to first.
The Rockies had a chance to add to their lead in the eighth when Elias Diaz led off with a walk, advanced to second on a single by Joe and took third when Daza grounded into a double play. Blackmon then hit a sinking liner to right, and Max Kepler made a highlight-reel backhand diving grab of to end the scoring threat.
Minnesota, which had a leadoff batter reach base five times, didn’t have a runner reach third base until the bottom of the eighth.
Ryan Jeffers, who reached base three times, walked to open the inning. Pinch runner Kyle Garlick advanced to third two outs later on an infield single by Correa when third baseman Ryan McMahon’s throw bounced past first baseman C.J. Cron for an error. Bard then replaced Marquez and needed one pitch to get Kepler to ground out to second to escape the jam.
–Field Level Media
