Colorado Rockies morning after: Germán Márquez’s injury prevents sweep of Dodgers

The Colorado Rockies took two of three games against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field this week to wrap up the month of June.

The Rockies won the first two games but lost Wednesday’s game by a score of 8-4. Germán Márquez, who has struggled for much of the season, had turned a bit of a corner recently as he had gone 3-0 with a 3.16 ERA in his last four starts, lowering his ERA from 6.71 to 5.58.

He took a step back on Wednesday, going just 3.1 innings, allowing five hits, five runs (all earned), three walks, and only two strikeouts.

Márquez left the game during the fourth inning after Colorado’s training staff tended to him. Postgame, Rockies manager Bud Black and Márquez himself revealed what he left the game with.

Germán Márquez left Wednesday’s game due to a thumb injury

After Wednesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, it was revealed that Germán Márquez left the game due to a cut on his right thumb.

Manager Bud Black told the media, including Rox Pile, postgame that, in particular, it impacted Márquez’s fastball.

“I think it affected the fastball, for sure,” Black said. “I think there’s some underlying effect to his performance because of a cut on his thumb, where he places his thumb on the ball for his fastball.”

Márquez said that he got the cut three days ago and he suffered it during his bullpen session. The “only pitch” that Márquez said was not impacted by the cut was his slider.

Of his 75 pitches, he through 24 sliders according to Statcast, or 32 percent of the time, which was more than any other pitch. His second-highest pitch usage was his four-seam fastball at 27 percent.

In 2022, he has thrown his slider 25.6 percent of the time and his four-seam fastball 31.2 percent of the time so it was not a huge differentiating but there was a bit of a discrepancy from usual.

The Rockies have an off day today but will resume their homestand against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday in the first of a three-game series before the Rockies head to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers and Arizona on the road.

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