MLB Game Preview - Texas at Colorado

Fri Aug 14, 2020 8:40 PM EDT

German Marquez doesn't have to think back too far to recall pitching against the Texas Rangers. The Colorado Rockies right-hander can simply look at video from three weeks ago and know what he's in for Saturday night.

Marquez (2-2, 2.08 ERA) will make his fifth start of the season when the Rockies host the Rangers on Saturday at Coors Field, and 40 percent of those outings will have come against Texas.

The right-hander had the honor of opening the season and the new Texas ballpark when he faced the Rangers in Arlington on July 24. In his first career outing against Texas, he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and was tagged with the hard-luck loss in a 1-0 Texas win.

Marquez will face off against Rangers right-hander Kyle Gibson, who is making his first career appearance against Colorado. It's the second contest of a three-game series, with the opener going to Texas 3-2 on Friday night.

Marquez hopes to get even against the Rangers on Saturday. He also is looking for more offensive support after his team was limited to two hits by Lance Lynn and the Texas bullpen on Friday.

Even Charlie Blackmon wasn't able to contribute for Colorado in the series opener, taking his second consecutive 0-for-4. Before those two games, Blackmon was hitting .500 (34-for-68) through 17 games.

The Rockies right fielder, who is still batting .447, has succeeded this season despite contracting the coronavirus before summer camp.

"I wasn't worried (about my overall health) -- I was concerned about my ability to get back on the field and play ball," Blackmon said recently. "I didn't know how long it would take. There was a period of time after my symptoms subsided that I did feel down physically, and I was worried about how much physically I could do without worsening the infection. ...

"Ultimately I did the best thing, which was very little physical activity to get over the virus as quickly as possible."

Gibson (0-2, 4.11 ERA) is set to make his fourth start since leaving the Minnesota Twins to sign a free agent deal with Texas in December. He pitched well in his first two outings, allowing just three earned runs in 11 innings, but he was hit hard by the Oakland A's on Monday.

Gibson was chased after 4 1/3 innings, having allowed four runs on nine hits.

Both teams made some moves prior to the Friday game. The Rangers placed catcher Robinson Chirinos on 10-day injured list, retroactive to Aug. 11, due to a right ankle sprain, and recalled catcher Jose Trevino from the alternate training site.

"I think it's the best. Robbie agrees. He needs to get fully healthy," Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. "He wasn't contributing like he wanted to, but that had a lot to do with his health. If we can get him back to full health, we'll get the version of Robbie that we envisioned and that he wants to be."

Texas also selected the contract of right-hander pitcher Juan Nicasio.

Colorado made a minor move, trading righty Jesus Tinoco to Miami for right-hander Chad Smith.

--Field Level Media