DENVER — Germán Márquez pitched five strong innings before leaving with tightness in his right forearm, Alan Trejo tied a career-high with three hits and the Colorado Rockies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-4 on Monday night.
Márquez (2-1) was warming up for the sixth inning when he began rubbing his forearm as manager Bud Black and the trainers gathered around him. He exited to a cheer from the crowd after an outing in which he allowed two runs and struck out four.
The hard-throwing righty now has 979 career strikeouts, which is six away from tying Jorge De La Rosa’s mark for most K’s in Rockies history.
The Rockies' young shortstop Ezequiel Tovar had a pair of doubles, while Trejo added three singles and two RBIs.
It was another quick one with the game lasting 2 hours, 14 minutes. Colorado has yet to have a game go longer than three hours.
Steven Matz (0-2) struggled for a second straight start, allowing six runs and nine hits over 5 2/3 innings. He surrendered four runs over 5 1/3 innings in a loss to the Braves last week.
Jordan Walker singled in the seventh to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. It’s the longest by a rookie to start their career in Cardinals history.
Nolan Arenado's nine-game hitting streak was halted as he returned to Coors Field. He dazzled with his glove, though, starting a pair of double plays for the Cardinals. Arenado earned eight Gold Gloves over his eight seasons (2013-20) with the Rockies.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: OF Lars Nootbaar (bruised left thumb) took between 40 and 50 swings in the batting cage Monday. “Pretty happy with how it went,” Nootbaar said. “I just talked to some of the trainers and we’re marking it down as a positive day.”
Rockies: Closer Daniel Bard turned in another solid bullpen session. Bard’s on the injured list due to anxiety. “He’s doing well, doing great,” Black said. “No timetable.” ... OF Randal Grichuk (bilateral sports hernia) is slated to play in an extended spring training game Tuesday.
ARENADO’S RETURN
Arenado said it's beginning to feel more and more like just another game when he returns to Coors Field. That’s because only a few players are left on the roster from his days in Colorado.
He was traded to the Cardinals before the 2021 season — along with cash — for Austin Gomber, Elehuris Montero and prospects.
“It feels like it was so long ago, but it really wasn’t that long ago,” Arenado said before the game. “It’s a little weird. But I definitely get some good feelings back.”
UP NEXT
Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland (2-0, 0.00 ERA) has yet to allow a run over 12 2/3 innings heading into his third start of the season Tuesday against St. Louis. The Cardinals will throw righty Miles Mikolas (0-1, 9.64)
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Sports
