German Marquez shines as Rockies pull off gritty 3-2 win vs. Reds

Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post on Jul 11, 2025

Published in Baseball

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Victor Vodnik beat his chest, mouthed some choice words, and received a celebratory hug from catcher Hunter Goodman.

Why not? Vodnik had just closed out the Rockies’ grittiest victory of the season.

After giving up a leadoff double, Vodnik struck out TJ Friedl, Matt McLain, intentionally walked the dangerous Elly De La Cruz, and then fanned cleanup hitter Austin Hays to close out a 3-2 win over the Reds on Friday night at Great American Ball Park.

Colorado fanned 16 times, which is usually a death knell. But its pitchers struck out the Reds 13 times, including whiffing Hays four times — each time to end an inning.

The Rockies had multiple heroes, most especially starter German Marquez, and they needed every one of them.

Colorado cobbled together the winning run in the eighth, combining a one-out walk by Goodman, a single to center by Jordan Beck and a two-out infield single by Ryan McMahon to load the bases. Goodman scored on a wild pitch by reliever Tony Santillan, who overcooked a slider.

Cincinnati tied the game, 2-2, in the seventh inning off reliever Jake Bird. A leadoff single by Will Benson, a double by Noelvi Marte and an RBI groundout by Friedl knotted the game. Bird was in serious trouble, but he hung tough and struck out Hays for the third out.

Colorado took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on McMahon’s two-run homer off Reds starter Chase Burns. McMahon’s 13th homer came on a first-pitch curveball from the right-hander. McMahon drove the ball 414 feet.

Marquez, in the final months of his contract and considered a prime trade candidate as the July 31 deadline approaches, conjured up visions of his 2021 All-Star season. The right-hander’s fastball was on point early, and his knuckle curve tied the Reds up as the game went on. Marquez pitched six innings, allowing one run on five hits with three walks (one intentional) and eight strikeouts.

Marquez’s only mistake was a curveball low in the zone that Marte, the No. 9 hitter, put a barrel on and drove it to left field for a leadoff homer in the third to give Cincinnati a 1-0 lead.

Marquez escaped trouble in the first by inducing Hays to ground into an inning-ending double play. But the strikeout was Marquez’s best weapon. He struck out Benson to end the second, struck out Hays to end the third after De La Cruz hit a two-out triple on a sinking liner that left fielder Brenton Doyle dove for and missed. In the fifth, after issuing walks to Friedl and De La Cruz (again, intentionally), he fanned Hays.

Marquez has a 5.57 ERA, but has a 3.25 ERA with 50 strikeouts and 15 walks over his last 10 starts.