SAN DIEGO — Germán Márquez reached one career milestone earlier in the season when he made the All-Star game, pitching a clean inning in front of the hometown crowd.

The Rockies already consider him their ace. Next, he wants to be a part of the conversation for one of the best pitchers in the league.

Heading into Saturday’s game, he had a 2.38 ERA over his last 12 starts since May 21, tied for third-lowest in the major leagues during that span. On Saturday, he continued that trend, allowing two runs on four hits through six innings as the Rockies beat the Padres 5-3. The Rockies are now 6-6 on the road in their last 12 games away from Coors.

“It was fun,” Márquez said. “It’s always so much fun when we win. We can feel that feeling.”

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The biggest highlight of the night was actually not Márquez’s pitching. In the top of the fifth, off five-time All-Star Yu Darvish, Márquez took a slider and launched it 418 feet into center field.

It was the second home run of his career, and he was cheesing as he took his 29 second joy ride around the bases. He’s usually stoic and focused in between innings, sitting by himself in the corner of the dugout. But after that bomb, he was all smiles as he interacted with his teammates.

“I still can’t believe it,” he said. 

It was one of three home runs by the Rockies on Saturday, as Brendan Rodgers and Elias Díaz also connected on homers for the second day in a row.

To take it to the next level, Márquez knows a better fastball command and increased use of his change-up need to be at the top of his to-do list. He threw just a few change-ups on Saturday, all of them to Manny Machado to get a soft fly out in the sixth.

That first task has been a challenge for him this season, and he walked 19 in his first six starts. He walked four on Saturday. After sending Jurickson Profar to first on a 3-2 count in the second, Márquez walked off the mound. Then he pumped his fist into his glove, clearly disappointed, and got the next batter out. He said he felt a little lost with his command all night. 

In the third, he watched as Jake Croneworth hit his 94.5 mph slider into the centerfield stands. Then Márquez quickly turned around, before Croneworth even made it to first base, to ask the home plate umpire for a new ball. In the next inning, he rebounded to strike out the side on 14 pitches.

In the sixth, he allowed the bases to get loaded. Manager Bud Black came out, putting his arms on Márquez’s shoulders and looking him directly in the eyes. He gave him pitch selection advice, but his main objective of the visit was to tell Márquez to take a deep breathe. They trusted him. 

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Márquez got out of the jam, striking out Profar to end the inning on three pitches. It was an iffy call — the slider landed just below the zone — and Jayce Tingler was ejected after coming out to argue. But the call stood, and Márquez leaped into the air, strutting off to a sea of high-fives waiting for him in the dugout.

“We’ve seen that happen before our eyes over the last couple of years,” Black said of Márquez ability to get of tough situations. “From a coaching perspective, we know that from what we know about German, his talent, his experience now, that we trust him.”