SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Rockies right-hander
The Rockies scheduled Márquez for three innings, but manager Bud Black pulled him after Emerson and Rodríguez were chiefly responsible for running his pitch count to 48 through two.\n\nNone of this was a bad thing. In the trivial category of a Cactus League game, Márquez didn’t give up any runs. The meaningful aspect of Sunday was Márquez, who has made just one Major League regular-season start since undergoing Tommy John right elbow surgery in 2023, held his pitch quality and emerged with no undue pain or fatigue.
“I was prepared for three innings today,” Márquez said. But … two batters, 25 pitches. But I was executing my pitches and I felt good.”\n\nMárquez faced pressure the whole time. Rodríguez doubled the opposite way to the right-field corner on the first pitch and Márquez walked Randy Arozarena with one out, but he fanned Luke Raley and Mitch Haniger.\n\n“Those were two great at-bats by the young shortstop and Rodríguez, but he kept pounding the strike zone,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “I liked the fastball, liked the delivery.”
Márquez has pitched well enough to hold the Rockies’ career strikeouts record with 986, with the record being set last July 14 in his lone Major League start. He has pitched for the Rockies’ last two postseason teams (2017 and '18) and he has been an All-Star ('21 at Coors Field). But he also knows that Coors Field is as tough a place to pitch as anywhere, so Sunday amounted to a good workout.\n\nEven while straining just to get the guy out of the batter’s box, Márquez could appreciate Emerson, an infielder who was the Mariners’ 2023 first-round pick as a high school hitter.\n\n“I tip my hat to that kid,” Márquez said. “He can recognize the strike zone pretty well.”
**So that's what the Player Development folks were talking about** \nPatience at the plate was a key attribute assigned to second baseman
**Something more to celebrate** \nNon-roster righty Jefry Yan’s leaping split strikeout celebration is the bright story of the spring. He was able to do one on Sunday. But another trait made Black happy on Sunday after Yan’s clean inning.\n\n“I was impressed by the breaking ball,” Black said. “His slider was good. It had some depth to it and also had some good spin, and the bite was good.”
**Quiet pickup ready to make noise** \nRighty