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MINNEAPOLIS — In the team’s grittiest pitching performances of the season, Rockies starter German Marquez and closer Daniel Bard combined to shut out the Twins, 1-0, here Friday night at Target Field.
The victory, which took a mere 2 hours and 17 minutes to complete, snapped the Rockies’ three-game losing streak.
It wasn’t the prettiest of gems — more like a rhinestone than a diamond — but Marquez pitched a gutsy 7 2/3 innings before giving way to Bard, who retired four Twins in a row to earn his 15th save.
Marquez allowed only three hits, and only one was hit with a lot of authority. He struck out only two but walked five, including leadoff walks in the first, third, sixth and eighth innings. Marquez carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning before Max Kepler led off with a single. Kepler was quickly erased on a double play.
Ryan Jeffers painted the left-field line with a two-out double in the fifth, but Marquez calmly got Gilberto Celestino to ground out to second. Marquez recorded 12 outs via groundballs.
The Rockies scraped together their only run of the game off of right-hander Dylan Bundy in the sixth inning. Connor Joe drilled a one-out single to right and raced to third on Yonathan Daza’s bloop single to center. Joe scored on Charlie Blackmon’s groundout to short to give the Rockies a 1-0 lead.
Bundy limited the Rockies to four hits over his six innings, striking out two and walking two. In six home starts this season, he’s 2-0 with a 2.10 ERA.
Colorado had a chance to blow the game open in the eighth. Elias Diaz drew a leadoff walk and Joe rapped his second hit of the night. Jonathan Daza grounded into a double play — the Rockies’ third of the night — but Diaz advanced to third. Up came Charlie Blackmon, who scorched a sinking liner to right field only to see Kepler make a brilliant diving catch to end the inning.
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