Rockies done in by errors, squandered chances as they fall back to 40 games below .500

DENVER — Rockies Report, Game 64:

ROCKIES BOTTOM LINE: The Mets teed off on Germán Márquez on Saturday, launching three solo home runs into the Coors Field stands at his expense en route to an 8-1 romp.

The win — New York’s fifth over the Rox in the last nine days — dropped Colorado back to 40 games below .500, at 12-52.

While the Mets’ bombs allowed them to take control, it was the Rockies’ continued struggles with runners in scoring position that left them frozen.

The Rox opened with a pair of singles from Jordan Beck and Thairo Estrada, setting Hunter Goodman up with runners at the corners and none out. But he lined out to third, and then Mets starter Clay Holmes retired Ryan McMahon and Ryan Ritter.

Colorado’s third inning started in similar fashion; Tyler Freeman and Beck led off with singles. Estrada and Goodman ground out, with Estrada hitting into a 6-4-3 double play.

Colorado finished 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and is 1-for-15 in this series.

The team now sits 29th in that scenario in batting average (.210) and OPS (.624).

Luck is somewhat a factor but not to the extreme; their average on balls in play with runners in scoring position is .272, which is below average but only 23rd; the Mets, by comparison, rank 30th (.237).

“I think it’s just calmness in the batter’s box in those situations, mixed with aggression. That fine line in between,” interim manager Warren Schaeffer said.

Colorado’s only run came via McMahon’s seventh home run of the season, a 392-foot shot to the left-field stands that led off the fourth inning. It tied the game at 4-apiece.

But Jared Young delivered the second of New York’s three homers to lead off the fifth inning, and the Mets pulled away from there.

Brenton Doyle’s struggles continued as he went 0-for-4 on his bobblehead night, falling below the Mendoza Line with his season-long average now sitting at .196.

ROCKIES STARTER’S REPORT

Given the start after Schaeffer shuffled the rotation Saturday, Márquez opened well, yielding a leadoff single to Francisco Lindor before retiring the next five Mets and keeping the game scoreless through two innings.

But three pitches into the third inning, Márquez left a curveball over the plate, and Ronny Mauricio pulverized it, dropping it into the second level of the right-field stands. It was the first of three home runs yielded by Márquez, who’d yielded just four home runs in his first 12 starts this season.

“Too many misses over the plate,” Schaeffer said.

Márquez was pulled after 79 pitches, lasting three batters into the sixth inning, when he failed to record an out. Ryan Rolison bailed him out with a pair of ground balls — one of which became a 6-4-3 double play — to prevent any further damage.

But with Colorado’s offense frigid with runners in scoring position, Márquez absorbed the loss thanks to minimal run support, falling to 2-8.

BITS AND PIECES

IT WAS DECIDED FOR THE ROCKIES WHEN: Mets catcher Luis Torres lined a two-out, seventh-inning single off Estrada’s glove, driving in a pair to push New York’s advantage to 7-1.

ROCKIES NUMBER TO NOTE: 54 — Errors for the Rockies this season, including two Saturday night — a fielding error by Estrada and a throwing error by Kyle Farmer at first base. That total leads the National League and is second in MLB, trailing only Boston (56).

WHAT’S NEXT: Chase Dollander returns to the mound looking for his third win of the season as the Rox try to avoid going winless for the season against the Mets. New York will start right-hander Tylor Megill. First pitch for the matinee is at 1:10 p.m. MDT.

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