Rockies 3, Nationals 1: 4 wins in a row!

Rockies riding longest winning streak since May of 2024

Five Rockies pitchers combined to hold the Nationals to one run and Michael Toglia and Jordan Beck homered as Colorado (17-57) won its fourth game in a row. Washington (30-44), meanwhile, lost its 11th straight in a game that was delayed 1 hour and 45 minutes by rain on Wednesday.

Homers Keep Coming

Michael Toglia hit his third homer in two games, connecting on an 80.6 mph curveball from Mitchell Parker for a solo shot 404 feet to center field in the sixth inning to put the Rockies up 1-0.

The bomb was Toglia’s ninth of the season as he continues his improved hitting after being sent down to Triple-A Albuquerque. Toglia, hitting in the cleanup spot, wasn’t able to take advantage of situations where he had runners to knock in. In the first, he stranded Freeman on second. In the third, he popped out with runners on second and third.

Jordan Beck, hitting in the No. 3 spot instead of leadoff, added a homer of his own in the eighth inning with a two-out solo shot. Beck’s ninth blast of the year came on a changeup and went 398 feet to center field to put the Rockies up 3-1.

Márquez’s Scoreless Start

Germán Márquez put up one of his best performances of the season, continuing his momentum with sharper outings in his last six starts. Márquez threw 5 ²⁄₃ scoreless innings, giving up six hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Márquez got out of some jams with help from a great defense. He also got help when Braxton Fulford threw out Jacob Young trying to steal second in the third. Márques threw 57 of his 92 pitches in the strike zone to earn his team-high third win of the season. When he ran into trouble in the sixth, after giving up two singles, Jake Bird came and got Daylen Lile to ground out to end the threat.

Dazzling D

The Rockies defense, which has many players capable of jaw-dropping plays, was in the zone on Wednesday. In the third inning with two outs and a runner on first, Orlando Arcia robbed Luis Garcia Jr. of a hit and ended the scoring threat instead.

In the bottom of the seventh, it was Brenton Doyle’s turn. Keibert Ruiz appeared to hit at least a double to left-center field, but Doyle was able to get a good jump, dive, and slide like he was on a Slip ‘N Slide to make the catch.

Insurance Runs

As soon as Washington went to its bullpen, Arcia made them pay. When Brad Lord replaced Mitchell Parker in the seventh, Arcia dropped in a hit that got past diving Lile in right field for a leadoff triple. After Sam Hilliard struck out, Ryan Ritter crouched down for a bunt and didn’t back down when the pitch came in. Even though it knocked him down, he was still able to lay down a perfect bunt that allowed Arcia to score easily as the Rockies went up 2-0.

That run came in big as Juan Mejia surrendered a walk and a James Wood RBI double to put the Nationals on the board and cut the Rockies lead in half to 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh. Mejia was able to escape further damage by getting Garcia Jr. to ground out, and the Rockies continued to hold the lead. Tyler Kinley threw a perfect eighth and Seth Halvorsen posted his fifth save of the season after a smooth ninth inning when he struck out two.

Parker Finds His Curve

After connecting for five hits in the first three innings and only striking out once, the Rockies went from hitting Parker, Washington’s starter, hard to whiffing at his curveball. In the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, the Rockies struck out seven times and only connected for one hit. Every Rockie had one strikeout except for Hilliard, who had two and Tyler Freeman, who had none.

Up Next

The Rockies and Nationals will conclude their series on Thursday with first pitch slated for 11:05 a.m. Colorado will have Chase Dollander (2-7, 6.57 ERA) on the mound, while Trevor Williams (3-8, 5.71 ERA) will get the start for Washington.