German Marquez has had a long road back to the Colorado Rockies’ rotation, but the franchise leader in strikeouts appears to have his sharpness again.
Marquez (0-0, 0.00 ERA) is set to make his second start of the season on Saturday evening when the Rockies host the Athletics in Denver. He will try to end his team’s five-game losing streak.
JP Sears (0-1, 2.70) will start for the A’s, who won the first game of the series 6-3 in 11 innings on Friday.
Marquez, a right-hander, made four starts to open the 2023 season but missed the rest of the season due to Tommy John surgery. He returned to the mound on July 14, 2024, pitched four innings in a no-decision and then was shut down for the rest of the season with a stress reaction in his surgically repaired elbow.
Marquez, 30, came back strong in his first outing of this season, striking out four without walking a batter in six shutout innings at Philadelphia on Monday in a game Colorado lost 6-1.
“It’s been almost three years since I was bothered with injuries,” Marquez said after facing the Phillies. “I feel happy to be back and show that I am where I am.”
The Rockies can use his steadying influence, which started with his insertion into the rotation in 2017, his first full season in the majors. He was an NL All-Star in 2021 when Colorado hosted the event and threw a perfect fourth inning in the game.
Marquez has pitched well against the A’s, too. He has faced them four times in his career, registering a quality start in all of them, and is 3-1 with a 2.39 ERA.
Sears, a left-hander, was a hard-luck loser in his first start of this season, allowing two earned runs in 6 2/3 innings in a 2-1 setback at Seattle on Sunday. Including the ending of the 2024 season, Sears is 0-5 with a 4.79 ERA in his last six starts.
Although the Athletics dropped five of their first seven games, the rotation has pitched well, including Friday when Osvaldo Bido allowed just two runs through five innings. None of the four starters has an ERA above 4.00 in eight games, with Sears’ 2.70 the best among them.
“It’s contagious,” Sears said after his outing against the Mariners. “You go out there and you want to do what the guys before you did, or top that. We’ve got a good group of starters that bounce off each other. We’re each different, but we can help each other out.”
A’s manager Mark Kotsay said he thought Sears deserved a better fate in the 2-1 loss.
“He threw the ball really well,” Kotsay said. “Tough loss for him. The result doesn’t show how well he threw the ball.”
Saturday will be Sears’ second career start against the Rockies and his second at Coors Field. He last faced them July 28, 2023, when he allowed one run on four hits and struck out five in five innings to get the victory.
–Field Level Media
