In Game 1 of Thursday’s Mets-Rockies doubleheader, German Marquez threw what was just the 22nd complete game in MLB this season…and in doing so, he made some history.
Marquez and the Rockies lost 1-0 in that game, and the righty’s six innings is technically a complete game – and in needing just 62 pitches to get through those six innings, he became the first pitcher since ex-Yankee Ivan Nova to throw a CG with 62 or fewer pitches, and set a Rockies franchise record for pitches in a complete game.
The first accomplishment is just as dubious as some may see a seven-inning CG, as Nova’s “feat” came on Sept. 29, 2016, when he threw 5 1/3 innings for the Pirates in a game that was suspended by rain and eventually declared a 1-1 tie with the Cubs. That game, on the final weekend of the 2016 season, wasn’t completed because the Cubs had already clinched the best record in MLB, and the Pirates had already been eliminated from playoff contention.
As for the Rockies record, the previous holder was lefty Aaron Cook, who threw 74 in a Rockies win over the Pirates on July 25, 2007. That was a full nine inning game, as was Cook’s 79-pitch CG against the Padres in July 2008 – and since then, no pitcher since then has thrown a nine-inning complete game with fewer than 80 pitches.
Still, it’s a subdued milestone for Marquez, who, despite allowing just three hits and one walk, was a hard-luck loser; the Rockies’ offense was three-hit by Marcus Stroman and Edwin Diaz, and one of the three hits Marquez allowed was Jose Peraza’s solo home run that accounted for the only run of the game.
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