Rockies keep streak alive with big win over Nationals

It took the Rockies and the Nationals nearly six full innings before getting a run on the board, with Michael Toglia breaking the scoreless tie with a 404-foot solo home run in the top of the sixth inning.

Ryan Ritter doubled up that lead for the Rockies with a sacrifice bunt that plated Orlando Arcia in the seventh inning. The Nats cut their deficit down in half with a run by CJ Abrams off a James Wood RBI double in the bottom of the seventh frame before Jordan Beck ripped a solo blast in the top of the eighth inning that turned out to be the final run of the contest.

Germán Márquez pocketed his third pitching win of the season by tossing 5 2/3 innings of zero-run ball, with just six hits allowed and two walks issued along with two strikeouts through 92 pitches. Meanwhile, Seth Halvorsen retired three batters in a row to pick up the save, his fifth of the campaign.

The Rockies are still 28.5 games out of first place in the NL West, but any momentum generated by the team is easily appreciated given how poorly their season is going in general. They are 17-57 to date and, according to FanGraphs, the Rockies have zero percent chance of winning the division or even at least clinching a wild-card ticket to the playoffs.

Colorado will go for a sweep of the Nationals in the series finale with Chase Dollander expected to get the ball for the surging Rockies.