A shaky first inning for Germán Márquez turned into a solid outing, but, for the third day in a row, the offense didn’t back up the starting pitcher.

The Rockies fell to the host Giants 4-0, dropping their third straight as the Giants swept the series.

Márquez gave up a two-run home run in the first inning to Alex Dickerson, the Giants’ third batter. Márquez needed 35 pitches to get through that inning, but he grew stronger as the day went on.

He retired three out of four in the second, then struck out five in the third and fourth innings. In the sixth, Márquez allowed another home run, this time a solo one by Brandon Belt, before he was replaced by Robert Stephenson.

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Márquez got no help on offense, and the only real scoring chances came in the sixth and seventh innings. With Trevor Story on third and Charlie Blackmon on second with one out, the Rockies blew a chance to get some runs on the board.

In the top of the seventh, the Rockies wasted another opportunity. With the bases loaded, Blackmon grounded out directly to the Giants pitcher Tyler Rogers to finish the inning. 

“We just couldn’t get the big hit to break through and get some momentum,” manager Bud Black said. “We had our chances to get closer, we had our chances to get runs on the board.”

There were, however, some solid improvements for Márquez. He continued to refine his fastball command, a task he has been focused on throughout spring training and the early part of the season. His breaking ball was off in the first inning, but that also got stronger as his outing went on. He threw 97 pitches, 45.4 percent of which were fastballs. Only a few of those landed above the zone, an improvement from when he was consistently hitting too high.

As the starting rotation has been solid and improved each game, the offense has had a hard time getting them any support. Márquez said he and the rotation aren’t worried, and they hope the bats will follow through soon. 

“We are going to get out of this pretty soon,” Márquez said. “I believe in my team, they are good hitters. They are going to find an opportunity to get out of this.” 

The bullpen also continues to be a problem for the Rockies, giving up five runs in three games this series. On Sunday, it was Carlos Estévez who gave up a run, his fifth in five appearances this season.

The Rockies are off Monday, then head to Los Angeles for three games against the Dodgers.

“These last three games we didn’t do enough offensively to earn any wins,” shortstop Trevor Story said. “That’s on us, we’ll take the blame. It’s early, it’s such a long marathon of a season and guys know that. We stay optimistic that we are going to figure it out.”

Owings update

X-rays on utility infielder/outfielder Chris Owings, who was placed on the injured list Saturday with a sprained thumb, came back negative. Owings will get an MRI when the team returns to Denver on Friday, but it’s good news for Owings, who does not appear to have any structural damage to the thumb on his throwing hand.