Daniel Murphy’s home debut at Coors Field was nearly cut short when he got in the path of a mascot. The Rockies are happy he survived that — and he’s back in the lineup.
Murphy returned after missing 20 games with a fractured left index finger, Raimel Tapia had two doubles and drove in three runs to back a solid outing from German Marquez, and Colorado beat the Washington Nationals 9-5 on Wednesday.
Charlie Blackmon homered and Trevor Story extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a double and a triple. Nolan Arenado had three RBIs, David Dahl had three hits and Wade Davis picked up his third save. The Rockies have won eight of their last 10 and went 5-2 on their homestand.
“What a great homestand,” Murphy said. “These guys played great. I’m just happy to be a part of it at the end.”
Murphy’s two-year, $24 million deal was Colorado’s only significant free-agent signing in the offseason. The former National singled in his first at-bat and then drew a walk after Story tripled and scored on Tapia’s three-run double in Colorado’s four-run third inning.
“Murphy, with a guy on third, less than two outs and he took a walk,” manager Bud Black said. “He could have expanded the zone and tried to selfishly get a ribby but he didn’t. Those are the things that we’re talking about with Murphy that rub off.”
Things got dicey when Murphy came out of the dugout to take the field in the top of the sixth. He stepped into the path of the Coors Field tooth trot race, but disaster was avoided when the oversized tooth veered out of the way.
“He made a really athletic maneuver. Much appreciated,” Murphy said. “He probably could have lambasted me there. I should pay more attention.”
Juan Soto homered for the Nationals, who have yet to win more than two games in a row this season.
Marquez (3-1) pitched in pain in his previous start because of an infected tooth. He had it pulled after the loss to Philadelphia on Friday and settled down midway through the game to battle through seven innings Wednesday.
“He settled down and found the strike zone,” Washington manager Dave Martinez said. “He used his secondary pitches well and got ahead.”
The three runs Marquez allowed came with two outs. Jake Noll’s first major league hit was an RBI double in the second inning, and Soto hit a two-run homer following Victor Robles’ two-out single in the third to make it 3-0.
The Rockies scored the next nine runs off Anibal Sanchez (0-3) and Washington’s bullpen. Blackmon led off the fourth with his third homer to make it 5-3 and Arenado had an RBI single.
Colorado tacked on three more in the eighth against Trevor Rosenthal, whose horrific start to the season continued.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rockies: LHP Kyle Freeland (blister) threw a side session Wednesday. Freeland was placed on the 10-day injured list on Monday. … The Rockies optioned RHP Jeff Hoffman to Triple-A Albuquerque to make room for Murphy on the roster.
UP NEXT
Rockies: RHP Antonio Senzatela (1-1, 3.55) will open a three-game series at Atlanta on Friday night.
AROUND THE MAJORS WEDNESDAY
–Blake Snell was pinned with a loss in his return from a broken right toe. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner allowed three runs and five hits over 3 1/3 innings, throwing 65 pitches in the Tampa Bay Rays’ 10-2 loss to the Royals. The Rays decided that Snell was ready to return despite throwing just an 18-pitch bullpen session Saturday and eight pitches off a mound Monday. Adalberto Mondesi hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs as the Royals ended a five-game losing streak. Billy Hamilton had two hits and two RBIs to support Jakob Junis who limited the Rays to one run and four hits over five innings.
— The Yankees erased a 5-0 deficit before DJ LeMahieu singled home Tyler Wade with the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning of a 6-5 victory against the Angels. LeMahieu had three RBIs in sending New York to its sixth consecutive win. Andrelton Simmons hit two homers off Yanks starter CC Sabathia, and Kole Calhoun added a three-run homer during the Angels’ four-run fourth inning.
— Adam Wainwright notched his 150th career victory by allowing one run over six innings of the Cardinals’ 5-2 win over the Brewers. Marcell Ozuna and Yadier Molina homered as part of a four-run fourth that allowed St. Louis to complete a three-game sweep. Christian Yelich came up as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, but Jordan Hicks struck him out to pick up his seventh save in eight chances.
— The Diamondbacks won at Pittsburgh for the ninth straight time as Ketel Marte homered twice in an 11-2 romp over the Pirates. Marte made it 5-1 with a solo shot in the fifth inning and added a three-run shot in the eighth. Josh Bell and Jung Ho Kang homered off winning pitcher Merrill Kelly, who allowed just four other hits while striking out five over seven innings.
— Ozzie Albies homered on the game’s first pitch and Ronald Acuna Jr. scored from first base on Yasiel Puig’s fifth-inning error as the Braves beat the Reds, 3-1. Josh Donaldson doubled down the left field line to drive in Albies with an insurance run in the ninth. Mike Soroka tied his career high with seven strikeouts while allowing five hits and one run with three walks in 5 2/3 innings.
— Vince Velasquez scattered six hits over five innings as the Phillies blanked the Mets, 6-0 to avoid a three-game sweep and win for the second time in seven games. Rhys Hoskins homered off reliever Jacob Rhame and taunted him with a slow jog around the bases a night after Rhame buzzed him with two fastballs. Hoskins sparked a three-run eighth with his first career triple, and then made his statement against Rhame in the ninth.
— Javier Baez and Jason Heyward each hit three-run homers in the sixth inning of the Cubs’ 7-6 comeback over the Dodgers. Cole Hamels gave up three hits, walked six and exited trailing 3-0 after Cody Bellinger hit a two-run homer. The Cubs moved two games above .500 for the first time this season, and the Dodgers lost their second in a row following a 7-1 stretch.
— Rookie Chris Paddack picked up his first big league win by holding Seattle to one hit over seven innings of the Padres’ 1-0 decision over the Mariners. Paddock struck out nine and retired his final 19 batters against baseball’s best hitting lineup. Ian Kinsler homered off Felix Hernandez and the Padres swept the two-game series while dealing the Mariners their third straight loss.
— Drew Pomeranz and two relievers combined on a two-hitter as the Giants beat the Blue Jays, 4-0 to complete a two-game sweep. Pomeranz allowed a pair of singles in a season-high six innings to help San Francisco win its second straight following a season-high four-game losing streak. Pablo Sandoval homered for the Giants, who also received RBI doubles from Buster Posey, Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria.
— Jose Ramirez belted a solo homer and later added a two-run double while the Indians scored four times in the eighth to beat the Marlins, 6-2. Ramirez finished with four RBIs and Jake Bauers supplied the go-ahead, RBI single after Martin Prado’s two-out homer tied the game in the eighth. Ramirez came into the game batting .157 with five RBIs in 22 games before helping Cleveland end a three-game skid.
— Justin Verlander is 4-0 after allowing one run and four hits over eight innings of the Astros’ 7-1 win over the Twins. Verlander retired 11 of his last 12 hitters and blanked Minnesota after Polanco crushed a pitch into the second deck in right field in the fourth inning. Carlos Correa hit a solo homer before Michael Brantley and Josh Reddick added two-run shots.
— The Athletics celebrated a 6-5 win over the Rangers following Chad Pinder’s RBI single with two out in the bottom of the ninth. Stephen Piscotty hit a one-out single and stole second before scoring the winning run that gave Oakland a three-game sweep. Matt Chapman and Marcus Semien homered for the A’s.
— The Red Sox bounced back from their doubleheader loss to Detroit as J.D. Martinez had three hits and an RBI in Boston’s 11-4 pounding of the Tigers. Rafael Devers, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Christian Vazquez drove in two runs apiece to help the defending champs avoid their fourth losing streak of three games or more. Bosox starter Eduardo Rodriguez gave up a run on two hits, striking out seven and walking three over six innings.
— Stevie Wilkerson belted his first major league homer and John Means allowed one run over five innings on his birthday to lift the Orioles over the White Sox, 4-3. Baltimore won two of three to capture its first series since April 1-3 in Toronto. Mychal Givens worked the final two innings for his first save.