But things haven’t been so easy for “Easy Cheese” this year, as the Colorado ace has a career-worst 5.56 ERA heading into Friday’s outing against Arizona in the series opener at Coors Field. Manager Bud Black believes Marquez is “trying to do too much and trying to carry the load a little bit too much just based off his stature in the game now.”
“He has high expectations based off what he’s done the last couple years,” Black said. “He’s a fifth-year starting pitcher who’s gotten some acclaim, set the Rockies single-season record for strikeouts (with 230 in 2018).