By Patrick Saunders

Copyright denverpost

An epic milestone and an emotional finale colored the Angels-Rockies game on Saturday night at Coors Field.

Mike Trout, the Angels’ future Hall of Famer, hit the 400th home run of his career, crushing reliever Jaden Hill’s 3-1, 97.8 mph fastball 485 feet to left-center. The homer was the fireworks to the Angels’ 3-0 victory.

The Rockies’ record slid to 42-113, and they were shut out for the 17th time this season, the most in franchise history. They loaded the bases in the ninth against Angels right-hander Luis García, but he induced Jordan Beck to ground into a third-to-first double play.

Trout became the 59th member of Major League Baseball’s 400 home run club. The only other player to hit his 400th homer against the Rockies was Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., who launched his 400th on April 10, 2000, at Coors, as a member of the Reds.

“It’s good to finally get it done and get this milestone because this was definitely one of the things that was on my list coming in,” Trout said.

The home run was even more special because it was the third-longest of his career.

“It’s up there, for sure,” he said. “I think that (pitch) was 98 mph, and I finally put a good swing on a fastball and barreled one. That’s one of the better ones of my career.”

Lost in Trout’s milestone was the quiet goodbye of veteran right-hander German Marquez, who almost certainly pitched his final game in a Rockies uniform in Denver. Marquez will become a free agent at the end of the season, and the Rockies have no plans to re-sign him.

“It was very, very emotional,” said Marquez, who has pitched 1,142 innings for Colorado, the third-most in franchise history. He passed lefty Jorge De La Rosa (1,441 1/3).

He was aware of his Coors Field finale.

“I was thinking about it the whole game,” he said. “This is my home and I have been here for my whole career. I feel happy here, but it’s baseball, and I have to see what’s going to happen.”

Manager Warren Schaeffer added, “German cares about his place. It’s very special to him, I know that for a fact. It’s only right for him to be emotional in that situation.”

It wasn’t vintage Marquez on Saturday night, but there were flashes of the 2021 All-Star who has struck out more batters than any pitcher in franchise history. Over his seven innings, the right-hander allowed just three hits, struck out five, and walked just one. He has fanned 1,068 batters in his 10-year career with Colorado.

Unfortunately for Marquez, two of the three hits he allowed were home runs. Taylor Ward led off the second with a 410-foot fly into the left-center seats. In the sixth, Nolan Schanuel led off with a 409-foot home run to right.

“I thought my fastball command and my curve were good tonight,” Marquez said. “I felt strong. I wanted to pitch well tonight.”

It was a strong rebound performance for the 30-year-old. He was 0-3 with a 12.96 ERA in his previous four starts since coming off the injured list on Aug. 29. He had not whiffed more than two hitters in any of those four starts, and twice, he failed to record a strikeout. That had never happened before.

Injuries wiped out what could have been the peak of Marquez’s career. He made just four starts in 2023 before he was sidelined with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. He made just one start last season when he suffered a stress reaction in his repaired elbow.

Soft-tossing Angels right-hander Kyle Hendricks was a Rubik’s Cube the Rockies couldn’t solve. The veteran pitched seven scoreless innings, allowed just three singles, walked none, and struck out five.

“He moved the ball in and out, all around,” Schaeffer said. “He showed that you don’t have to throw the ball 100 mph to get people out. He’s been doing that a long time.”

The Rockies, 24-56 at Coors Field, host their final home game of the season on Sunday afternoon.

Trout’s 400th

Angels designated hitter Mike Trout hit the 400th home run of his career on Saturday night at Coors Field. Here are some tidbits from his milestone blast:

• Became the 59th member of the 400 Home Run Club and the third player to record his 400th homer in an Angels uniform, joining Hall of Famers Dave Winfield (Aug. 14, 1991, at Minnesota) and Vladimir Guerrero (Aug. 10, 2009,, vs. Tampa Bay).

• Joined Ken Griffey Jr. as the only two players to record their 400th home runs against the Rockies. Griffey did it on April 10, 2000, at Coors Field as a member of the Reds.

• Trout’s 485-foot home run was the second-longest in the majors this season, one foot behind The Athletics’ Nick Kurtz’s 486-foot homer on Sept. 13 vs. Cincinnati.

• Trout’s three home runs of 485 feet or more are the most of any player during the Statcast Era (since 2015). Saturday’s homer was the third-longest of his career. (longest: 490’ on Oct. 10, 2022, at Oakland).

Source: Colorado Rockies

Want more Rockies news? Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis.