Trea Turner hits for cycle in Washington Nationals’ 15-12 win over Colorado Rockies in Coors Field...

The start of tonight’s game was delayed by an hour and five minutes by rain and it didn’t exactly fly by, with Washington’s Nationals knocking Colorado Rockies’ right-hander German Marquez around for nine hits and eight runs in four innings in what ended up a 15-12 win in Coors Field.

Joe Ross didn’t fare much better than Marquez, though he managed to hang around longer than the Rockies’ starter, giving up seven hits and five earned runs in 4 ²⁄₃ IP, bringing an end to the Nationals’ streak of 12-straight quality starts.

NATIONALS CYCLE:

Trea Turner singled the first time up, doubled in his second trip to the plate, homered in the sixth, then connected for a base-clearing triple in the top of the seventh to hit for the cycle and drive in his fifth, sixth and seventh RBIs on the night.

In hitting for the cycle, Turner became the third player in Nationals’ franchise history (2005-present) to accomplish that feat.

Turner joined Brad Wilkerson (4/06/2005) and Cristian Guzman (8/28/2008) as the only three on the list.

It took well over three hours, with on and off rain, and the Rockies just wouldn’t quit, but the Nationals outlasted the home team to claim a 15-12 win in Coors Field.

Nationals now 14-6

Here’s how it happened:

• Trea Turner singled with one out in the top of the first inning tonight, lining a 98 mph 0-1 fastball from Rockies’ starter German Marquez the other way, just off of the top of first baseman Mark Reynolds’ glove.

Turner scored when Bryce Harper sent a grounder through the right side in the next at bat and Carlos Gonzalez bobbled it on the wet grass in Coors Field. 1-0 Nationals early.

• Harper scored one out later when Daniel Murphy sent a ground ball into the hole at short that shortstop Trevor Story couldn’t quite get to, 2-0.

• German Marquez avoided walking any batters in 10 IP at Triple-A to start the 2017 campaign, but a two-out walk to Joe Ross came back to to haunt the Rockies’ righty when Adam Eaton singled and Trea Turner doubled in the at bats that followed with Turner’s two-base hit driving both runners in, 4-0.

• Back-to-back walks to Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman kept the second going and loaded the bases and Daniel Murphy cleared them with a line drive triple into the left-center gap, 7-0 Nationals.

• Carlos Gonzalez flat crushed a 1-1 slider from Ross in the Rockies’ half of the second, sending a towering home run into the second deck in right field. 7-1 Nationals.

• Ross walked Tony Wolters to start the Rockies’ third, and the catcher moved up on a sac bunt before scoring on an RBI single by Charlie Blackmon, 7-2.

• Back-to-back, two-out doubles by Ryan Zimmerman and Daniel Murphy put the Nats up 8-2 in the top of the fourth, but Mark Reynolds’ seventh home run of the season in the bottom of the inning made it 8-3.

• German Marquez’s Line: 4.0 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 2 Ks, 85 P, 51 S, 6/3 GO/FO.

• Charlie Blackmon singled and scored on a DJ LeMahieu double in the sixth, when LeMahieu hit a first-pitch fastball from Ross to right field, 8-4.

• LeMahieu scored on an RBI double by Nolan Arenado, who lined a 2-2 slider from Ross to right to make it a three-run game, 8-5.

• Joe Ross’s Line: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 Ks, 2 HRs, 90 P, 57 S, 4/6 GO/FO.

• Enny Romero finished off the fifth striking Gerardo Parra out twice before Parra grounded out to short. [ed. note - “Romero threw strikes in 0-2 ,1-2 counts that were called balls.”]

• Trea Turner made it a five-run game in the sixth with a two-run, opposite field home run off Jordan Lyles on a 94 mph 1-1 fastball that went out to the corner in right. 10-5 Nationals. Turner’s 1st of 2017.

• Scott Oberg loaded the bases in front of Adam Eaton in the Nationals’ half of the seventh and an error on a by LeMahieu, 11-5. Trea Turner stepped up next with the bases loaded and cleared the bases with a triple that gave him the cycle and seven RBIs. 14-5 Nationals. Turner scored on a groundout by Bryce Harper, 15-5.

• Carlos Gonzalez, with a sac fly, and Mark Reynolds, with a groundout, drove in runs as the Rockies made it 15-7.

• Joe Blanton gave up four runs in the eighth as the Rockies rallied again to make it a 15-11 game, with Charlie Blackmon’s two-run homer ending Blanton’s night.

• Shawn Kelley came on in the ninth and mercifully ended this one... after giving up a home run by Gerardo Parra. 15-12 final.

NATIONALS PREGAME NOTES:

• With last night’s win, Colorado improved to 49-33 against Washington in the all-time series between the two teams.
• In today’s “Fun with Arbitrary End Points” update, however, the Nationals are 14-12 against the Rockies... since the start of the 2013 season.
• With their 8-4 win last night, the Rockies have now scored eight or more runs in each of their last three games.
• Ryan Zimmerman’s home run last night was his 7th of the season. This is the first time in his career that the 32-year-old infielder has hit seven home runs in April.
• DJ LeMahieu went 1 for 5 last night, leaving him 34 for 91 (.374 AVG) career vs the Nationals.
• Washington started the day leading the NL in AVG (.267), leading the majors in OPS (.791) and doubles (42), ranked second in SLG (.449) and third in OBP (.342).
• Jacob Turner turned in the Nationals’ 12th consecutive quality start last night.
• Bryce Harper grounded out in a pinch hit appearance last night, leaving him with a .394/.518/.803 line on the season.

Nationals now 14-6