DENVER — German Marquez will start Saturday for the Colorado Rockies http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-paul-molitor-jersey , seeking to continue his recent success that largely is the result of a couple of subtle changes. He will try to slow the torrid St. Louis Cardinals.St. Louis beat the Rockies 7-5 on Friday night to improve its record this month to 18-4, the four losses each being by one run. The Cardinals (72-57) extended their road winning streak to nine games, the longest active streak in the majors and the longest by the Cardinals since April 28-May 10, 2017.The Rockies (70-58) are 1-4 this season against the Cardinals and 1-7 dating back to July 24, 2017.Article continues below ...Marquez (11-9, 4.42 ERA) will be opposed by left-hander John Gant (5-5, 3.76), who has started and relieved this season and lately has found his footing in the Cardinals’ rotation.Marquez has pitched at least seven innings in four of his past five starts, including Sunday at Atlanta when he gave up two runs and five hits in seven innings and came away with a 4-2 win. In his past nine starts, Marquez is 6-1 with a 2.87 ERA. In his last five starts, he held opponents to a .206 average and .606 OPS with eight walks and 39 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings as the modifications he worked on with pitching coach Steve Foster and bullpen coach Darren Holmes have taken hold.Holmes said they worked with Marquez on staying tall in his delivery and working with a consistent tempo. Holmes said Marquez was “hinging,” which is pitching parlance for not having his lower and top halves in synch, resulting in getting too tilted as he leans back in his delivery.“Then he’s fighting to get back down,” Holmes said. “So we talked to him about staying tall and not really worrying about getting weight into his legs as far as power, because his power comes from a quick arm.”In addition, Marquez has worked to deliver his pitches with the same amount of time from the first movement in his delivery until his front foot touches the ground.“Every pitch he had was different,” Holmes said. “Consistent timing with everything (was the goal). And he’s done a great job doing it. Sometimes he slows down a little bit in the first inning and that’s something that he’s working on — to be more aggressive early.”Marquez has allowed 28 runs in the first inning, 17 more than in any other inning.Holmes said Marquez was slower with his changeup and his curveball, but sped up his tempo when throwing his slider.“We took the fastball, curveball, slider, changeup and made them all the same tempo,” Holmes said. “If he’s up, his tempo is slow. If he’s throwing scuds, his tempo’s too fast. So every time now, he recognizes it.”Marquez is 2-0 with a 2.53 ERA in two career starts against St. Louis Roger Clemens Jersey , but he has not faced the Cardinals this season.Gant, who has never faced the Rockies, will be pitching in his 20th game this season and making his 13th start. In his past three starts, Gant is 2-1 with a 2.30 ERA, a stretch of 15 2/3 innings in which he has not allowed a homer with three walks and 11 strikeouts.He lost his last start Sunday against Milwaukee, giving up two runs and six hits in 4 1/3 inningsGant has been more effective against right-handed hitters, limiting them to a .197 average and .521 OPS with no homers in 161 plate appearances. Left-handed hitters are batting .234 with a .727 OPS and six homers in 174 plate appearances against Gant.“John’s fit in the rotation and acclimated very well,” Cardinals interim manager Mike Schildt said. “He’s a good athlete, good preparer. He’s got weapons, so he’s able to be effective against righties and lefties.“He’s got a nice changeup. He’s got a good breaking ball. He throws his fastball to both sides of the plate. He’s got good sink on it. And he can throw all of them at any time in any count. He’s a real pitcher. He trusts his stuff. He’s got the weapons and he knows how to use them. They’re all quality pitches. They’re not just show pitches; they’re effective pitches.” It was a rough weekend for playoff hopefuls.TheBoston Red Sox(vs. HOU),Chicago Cubs(vs. WAS),St. Louis Cardinals(vs. DET),Colorado Rockies(vs. LAD),Seattle Mariners(vs. NYY),Arizona Diamondbacks(vs. ATL) andPhiladelphia Phillies(vs. NYM) all lost their weekend series.The Red Sox and Cubs are still locks for a postseason berth, but for those other five teams, every win counts, and the Cardinals and Phillies fell to teams well off the contention pace.The Phillies (16.8 percent), D-backs (12.9 percent) and Mariners (0.8 percent) have all seen their postseason hopes fade to long-shot status, according to the latest odds from FanGraphs, and they'll have to get red-hot the rest of the way to shift that narrative.As for teams losing both of their series last week, the Cubs and Phillies were joined by theSan Francisco Giants(0-6),Texas Rangers(1-5),Chicago White Sox(1-5),Kansas City Royals(2-4) andBaltimore Orioles(1-5).That said, for those teams that are already out of the playoff hunt Justin Smoak Jersey , this time of year is less about wins and losses and more about assessing in-house talent and looking ahead to next season. Anything they can do to play spoiler is simply a bonus.MVPs of the WeekHitter:DH Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles AngelsStats:9-for-19, 1 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 8 R, 4 BB, 2 SBIt was a tough week for Shohei Ohtani the pitcher.The Angels rookie phenom made his triumphant return to the mound on Sept. 2 but found himself in the MRI room on Wednesday when it was revealed that he will, in fact, need Tommy John surgery after all."Shohei got some very disappointing news the other day," manager Mike Sciosciatold reporters. "He's got some big decisions coming up when we get back to southern California. But he wants to play baseball. He goes out there, and he's excited to be in there and be able to swing the bat. He's playing very well."Indeed, it was an excellent week for Shohei Ohtani the hitter.On the same day he learned his season on the mound was over, he went 4-for-4 with two home runs at the plate in a 9-3 victory over the Texas Rangers.The following day, he hit a three-run shot against the Chicago White Sox for his 19th homer of the season, setting the single-season record for a Japanese rookie in the process. The previous mark was set by Seattle Mariners catcher Kenji Johjima in 2006.Ohtani will play out the remainder of the season as a designated hitter before making a final decision on Tommy John surgery. Can he do enough offensively to make a compelling case for AL Rookie of the Year over the season's final month? Pitcher:SP Jorge Lopez, Kansas City RoyalsStats:1 GS, W, 8.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 KBright spots have been few and far between for the Kansas City Royals this season.Rookie Jorge Lopez taking a perfect game into the ninth inning last week was one of the few.Lopez, 25, was traded to the Royals along with outfielder Brett Phillips at the deadline in exchange for third baseman Mike Moustakas.The right-hander was ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the Milwaukee system and the No. 59 prospect in baseball at the start of the 2016 season http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-marco-estrada-jersey , according toBaseball America, but he was never able to break through with the Brewers.Now he'll be given every chance to carve out a long-term role with the rebuilding Royals. In five starts since the trade, he's gone 2-3 with a 4.40 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 22 strikeouts in 28.2 innings.He's now twirled back-to-back quality starts, as he threw seven innings of one-run ball against the Baltimore Orioles in his previous start before coming three outs from making history on Saturday.Video Highlights of the WeekLongest Home Run: Trevor Story, Colorado Rockies(505 feet)It's time to start talking about Trevor Story as a dark-horse candidate for NL MVP honors.After leading the NL with 191 strikeouts last season while hitting a disappointing .239/.308/.457, it looked like he might have a hard time holding off top prospect Brendan Rodgers for the starting shortstop gig.Instead, he's been one of the breakout stars of 2018.The 25-year-old is hitting .293/.348/.555 with 39 doubles, 31 home runs, 95 RBI, 77 runs scored and 25 stolen bases, and his 4.8 WAR is tied with teammate Nolan Arenado for seventh among NL position players.His 31 long balls already represent a career high, and that total was bolstered by a three-homer game on Wednesday against the Giants.The second of his three blasts traveled an eye-popping 505 feet鈥攏ot only the longest home run of the season, but the longest since Statcast began tracking home run distance at the start of the 2015 season.All told, he hit a staggering 1,380 feet worth of home runs on Wednesday, and it was just the latest breakout moment for one of the game's newest stars. Best Defensive Play:Dansby Swanson, Atlanta BravesWhile Dansby Swanson is still developing offensively, his defense at the shortstop position has been an integral part of the Atlanta Braves' success this season.That's not to say the former No. 1 overall pick has not taken a step forward offensively, as he's raised his OPS+ from 68 to 93while hitting .246/.304/.411 with 23 doubles, 14 home runs and 55 RBI.It's his glove that has really stood out, though.Swanson has racked up 10 DRS with a 4.8 UZR/150, and that's played a major role in his 2.7 WAR.When it comes to naming the defensive play of the week, the situation means as much as the highlight, and this play up the middle by Swanson came in the 10th inning and effectively sealed the win for the Braves."Get there at all costs," Swanson told reporters of his mindset on the play. "Especially in that situation Aaron Sanchez Jersey , even if you knock it down, that's a win. You want to keep it in the infield. And I was able to glove it cleanly ... I don't think anyone anticipated that I'd be able to catch it and make a throw like that, so I think that was the right play on both sides, offensively and defensively. We were just able to make it happen." Must-See Upcoming MatchupMilwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs (Monday-Wednesday)Kyle HendricksJonathan Daniel/Getty ImagesThe Brewers gained three games on the Cubs last week, and now the two teams perched atop the NL Central standings will meet for three crucial September games at Wrigley Field.The Cubs lead the season series 10-6, but the Brewers are 5-3 since suffering a four-game sweep at the end of April, including taking two of three just last week at Miller Park.Jon Lester (5 GS, 3-1, 3.95 ERA), Jose Quintana (5 GS, 2-1, 3.58 ERA) and Kyle Hendricks (6 GS, 3-1, 2.43 ERA) have all pitched well over the past month, and they'll toe the rubber for the Cubs.The Brewers will counter with veterans Wade Miley (5 GS, 1-1, 2.15 ERA) and Jhoulys Chacin (5 GS, 3-2, 2.10 ERA), who are also pitching well for the first two games, while Chase Anderson (5 GS, 2-0, 4.68 ERA) takes the ball in the finale.This will be the last time these two teams meet during the regular season, so expect a playoff atmosphere on the North Side. All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.