With fans behind him, Márquez deals in ASG

DENVER -- Rockies right-hander Germán Márquez clapped into his glove, then doffed his cap and patted it to his heart as he left after a spotless fourth inning in Tuesday's 2021 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard. But maybe the best part of it for the sellout crowd at Coors Field is that it can expect plenty more moments like that.

The event was a lovefest for Márquez. Not only was it his first Midsummer Classic, but he was the first Rockies starter selected to the National League squad since Ubaldo Jiménez started the 2010 All-Star Game in Anaheim.

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“Just to go out there and get those three outs, pretty easy,” Márquez said through an interpreter after pitching in the NL's 5-2 loss. “But just to get that ovation from the fans, it was really special for me.

“When they first called me in, I got a little bit emotional. I was excited there, just because I really felt like [the fans] were behind me. But as I was pitching, I was really just focusing in, because I needed to do my job at that point. I heard them, for sure.”

Fans showered Márquez during pregame introductions, with the noise level at least matching that of the reception for former Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado, now representing the Cardinals. It wasn’t the only connection between Márquez and the Mile High City past.

Before the All-Star Game, Márquez squatted behind the plate to handle the ceremonial first pitch, thrown by former Super Bowl-winning Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, with former Rockies first baseman Todd Helton near the mound for support.

“I’m not going to lie -- I was a little nervous, just catching that first pitch from a guy who's had such a tremendous career, but I didn't know him before that,” Márquez said of Manning. “But I was just glad I was I was able to have that moment there.”

Márquez said he had not met Helton, but he acknowledged “what he’s done for the franchise.”

Upon entering the game to start the fourth, Márquez forced a grounder from the Red Sox’s Rafael Devers to second on his first pitch. The second out of the inning was a bouncer from the A's Marcus Semien -- to none other than a charging Arenado at third.

After the obligatory around-the-horn tosses, Márquez accepted Arenado’s return of the ball with a classy glove point. There was no jealousy over the reception for his former teammate.

“He deserved it for all these years and all the work that he put into the city,” Márquez said. “He definitely deserves it. He deserves even more than that.”

Arenado relished one more chance to play behind Márquez.

“I would always tell him, ‘Hey, man, give me the ball. I'm going to make a play for you. You know I always have your back, no matter what,’” Arenado said. “I’d just try to preach that into him.

“Sometimes, it's hard to pitch here. And sometimes, you pitch here a little tentatively. And whenever I’d see him doing that, I know that's not when he's at his best. So when he's throwing strikes and competing, getting after guys, that's usually when you see the best.”

Márquez's final out -- a strikeout of Royals catcher Salvador Perez on a 2-2 slider -- was all about today and the future.

Márquez is signed to a club-friendly contract through 2023, with a club option for '24. Colorado manager Bud Black, who was in the dugout as an NL coach invited by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, has insisted the Rockies will not trade Márquez.

The Rockies are in fourth in the National League West and are expected to be sellers at the Trade Deadline. But given how the team tends to operate -- because pitching is so hard to develop at altitude and Márquez is at the forefront of a rotation that has been solid -- Black’s was not the type of denial that means he’s out the door.

During Perez's at-bat, Márquez sailed a four-seam fastball over everyone’s heads to the backstop. By no means was it intentional.

In fact, while Perez was participating in Monday’s T-Mobile Home Run Derby, Márquez and multiple other Venezuelans showed support and shook hands with Perez -- a Valencia native who is revered not only in his homeland, but throughout baseball.

“I have ton of respect for Salvador, what he’s done in his career, and just being from Venezuela, I wanted him to feel that support that he had from Venezuelan guys during the Home Run Derby," Márquez said.