There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned pitching duel.
On paper, Sunday’s matchup between the New York Mets’ Max Scherzer and the Colorado Rockies’ Germán Márquez didn’t look like it would be a candidate to fall into that category. Scherzer is one of the best of his generation, a three-time CY Young winner. Márquez has flashed brilliance and flirted with perfection, but entered this game with an ERA over 5.00.
It was Márquez, in fact, who out-dueled the future Hall of Famer, pitching seven shutout innings as the Rockies beat the Mets 1-0. Scherzer, to his credit, still had a great day, giving up just one run in seven innings.
“Germán has had his ups and downs this year, but I had a feeling he was going to rise to the occasion in New York against one of the premier pitchers in the game,” manager Bud Black said to reporters. “And he did. I’m very proud of him. I thought he made pitches when he needed to.”
This hasn’t been Márquez’s year, but he has been better in the second half of the season. Still, he’s had his misses, and he was near-tears five days ago, mad at himself after giving up six runs.
“It’s freaking frustrating,” he said then.
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He started Sunday with two fastballs that were nowhere near the zone. Then he hit his stride. All of his pitches were working for him, with a heavy emphasis on his sinker and curveball. Márquez didn’t give up a hit until the fifth inning, when Jeff McNeil hit a single. That would be all Márquez would allow, as no Mets players made it past second with him on the mound.
Roster Move
Lucas Gilbreath was placed on the injured list with a left elbow flexor strain on Sunday. He will have an MRI on Monday to determine the extent of the injury. For now, the Rockies only left-handed reliever is Austin Gomber, who is typically used only as a long reliever.
In a corresponding move, the Rockies activated Alex Colomé off the injured list.
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