MEDIA CLIPS –April 29, 2018 Blackmon hits NL-leading 9th homer in loss Marquez's solid outing not enough as Rockies' bats can't overcome early deficit By Glenn Sattell / Special to MLB.com | Apr. 27th, 2018 MIAMI -- Miami welcomed back a pair of familiar faces to Marlins Park on Saturday and both played key roles in a 4-1 win over the Rockies, evening the three-game series at one game apiece. Through five innings, the Rockies did little against Marlins left-handed starter Wei-Yin Chen (1-0), who was making his first Major League start since May 1 of last season. But Charlie Blackmon opened the sixth inning with a 429-foot home run into the right center-field seats to cut the Marlins' lead to 3-1. It was his ninth homer of the season and eighth on the road. Ian Desmond followed with a double and a one-out single by Trevor Story put the tying runs on base marking the end of Chen's long-awaited return. "It looked like he was moving the ball in and out," manager Bud Black said of Chen's success. "It looked like there wasn't a lot of bad misses. The fastball was a little sneaky velocity. We knew he had a little life in his fastball. It was more about the fastball command." The Marlins worked out of the jam when reliever Nick Wittgren struck out Chris Iannetta and then got Gerardo Parra to fly out to end the inning. Derek Dietrich got that run back for the Marlins, leading off the seventh inning with his third home run of the year, a 393- foot blast off Rockies reliever and former Marlin Mike Dunn. 1 Martin Prado (2-for-4), in just his second game since July 17, 2017, drove in the Marlins' first two runs with a first-inning fielder's choice grounder and a third-inning double. A knee injury shortened last season for Miami's third baseman, and a hamstring injury in Spring Training delayed his return. Rockies starter German Marquez (1-3) finished strong, retiring the last seven batters he faced -- four by strikeout. He went six innings, throwing a career-high 113 pitches, mainly due to early-inning troubles. "From the beginning, I was a little excited," Marquez said. "I calmed down, that was the biggest adjustment. My approach was to hit the target, get a ground ball to get off the mound quick." He labored through a 29-pitch first inning trying to find command of his fastball. Marquez walked two of the first three batters he faced and fell into a 3-0 hole, yielding single runs in the first, third and fourth innings. "He battled, it wasn't as though he was scattered," said Black. "He didn't land the breaking ball early, but he hung in there. It got better as the game went on. A lot of times in this day and age, you go six innings and give up three [runs], a lot of times that's thought of to be a really good outing." The 113 pitches were the most by a Rockies pitcher this season. The six-inning stint, with just two earned runs allowed and six strikeouts, was Marquez's second quality start of the year. "I felt good, really good. I don't mind at all [throwing that many pitches]," Marquez said. "I want to get as deep into the game as possible. That's what I've worked hard for in the offseason, to build endurance and to go deep into games." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED The Rockies were unable to come through in clutch situations. Parra grounded into a double play to end a potential threat in the fourth inning and the Rockies left seven runners on base. Colorado has scored just one run in each of the first two games of the three-game series. But Parra doesn't believe the Rockies are jinxed at Marlins Park, a place they have historically had trouble scoring runs. "That's baseball. Every day is something different," Parra said. "Maybe tomorrow everybody hits it good. There's nothing I can say, that's baseball. Tomorrow's another day." 2 SOUND SMART Desmond was hit by pitch in both the first and eighth innings. The last Rockies player to be hit by pitch twice in a game was Jonathan Lucroy last season. HE SAID IT "We're going to, at times, push these guys because we need them. And actually, they're up for it. Guys want to pitch, especially young guys." -- Black, referring to Marquez's career-high 113 pitches on Saturday UP NEXT The Rockies conclude the first leg of a three-city, nine-game road trip when they wrap up a three-game series with Miami at Marlins Park on Sunday. They'll face struggling left-hander Caleb Smith, who is 0-3 in his last four outings, posting a 7.16 ERA. He averaged slightly better than four innings per stint in those four starts. Right-hander Chad Bettis goes for the Rockies, with first pitch set for 11:10 a.m. MT. 3 Injury updates: CarGo, Freeland, Anderson, DJ Right fielder expected to come off DL shortly after return eligibility Sunday By Glenn Sattell / Special to MLB.com | Apr. 27th, 2018 MIAMI -- The news is good for four Rockies who are close to returning to the field. One of those, right fielder Carlos Gonzalez, is eligible to come off the 10-day disabled list on Sunday. And though it doesn't appear likely that he'll be activated then, CarGo ran on Friday and says he is about 75 percent. "That's probably optimistic, for sure," manager Bud Black said of CarGo's return on Sunday. "But we're encouraged. It shouldn't be too much longer. I can't put a number of days on it. But he's positioning himself probably for the next few days." Gonzalez was placed on the 10-day DL on April 22, retroactive to April 19, with a right hamstring strain. Left-handed pitcher Kyle Freeland, who was hit on the left heel by a batted ball in his most recent outing, looks to be ready for his next start after throwing his normal side session on Friday. "He came out of it fine," said Black. "I think Kyle's going to be fine for [his regular rotation start] Monday." The diagnosis is equally optimistic for left-hander Tyler Anderson, who exited Friday's start in the second inning with a heartbeat issue. "Everything checked out fine," said Black. "He feels good today. We'll keep an eye on him, but everything points to him making his next start." In addition, second baseman DJ LeMahieu, who left Friday's game with right hamstring tightness, was not in the starting lineup on Saturday, but isn't expected to miss a significant amount of time. "DJ is a little better than we hoped," Black said. "So that's a good sign. He's still a little sore. But strength is O.K. "It looks as though we might have avoided a disabled list situation with the hamstring. The medical guys seem to think this is truly day to day. We're encouraged by how he feels." 4 Saunders: Rockies have reasons to believe they can be a contender Rebound by Jon Gray, talent of David Dahl will be key By Patrick Saunders / Denver Post | Apr. 27th, 2018 “At the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe.” — Bruce Springsteen MIAMI — You are no doubt wondering why I’m quoting The Boss. First, I am Bruce fanatic. Second, at the end of this 10-day, nine-game road trip, my beautiful reward will be seeing “Springsteen on Broadway,” after the Rockies finish a three-game set vs. the Mets. Talk about Thunder Road. But I digress. When it comes to the Rockies. there are plenty of naysayers out there. But on Friday, Sam Miller of ESPN.com posted an insightful column in which he predicted what a successful season would look like for each team. According to Miller’s crystal ball, a successful Rockies season would be to: Make the division series or accomplish two of the following: — Win 85 or more games — Play meaningful games the final week of the season — Get at least one star performance from somebody 24 or younger That’s a pretty good list and one that I believe this team can achieve, if things go right. We already know what’s gone wrong. Here’s a partial list: — Ian Desmond entered the weekend hitting .182 with a .215 on-base percentage and a .567 OPS. — The Rockies are batting .230 (11th in the National League) and have 238 strikeouts (third most in the NL). — No. 1 starter Jon Gray is 2-4 with a 5.79 ERA. — High-priced set-up man Bryan Shaw has a 7.11 ERA and a 1.82 WHIP. 5 But, with a tip of the ball cap to my man Bruce, here are some reasons to believe in this team. — Despite all of the holes in the offense and the woes of an inconsistent pitching staff, the Rockies entered the weekend 14-12. Catcher Chris Iannetta’s philosophy is that if a team can float at the .500 mark, avoid major losing streaks and then put together two or three good runs during the course of the season, a 90-win season is doable. That’s why this road trip is such an important litmus test.