SAN FRANCISCO -- The road has not been a good place for the Rockies this season, and that continued as Colorado embarked on its final road trip of 2022.

The Rockies lost, 5-2, to the Giants in Tuesday night's series opener at Oracle Park. Colorado is now 24-49 on the road, compared to one game over .500 (41-40) at home.

One Rockies player has had a pretty good run on the road, though, and that continued on Tuesday. Germán Márquez turned in a quality start, allowing a home run to Giants leadoff man Joc Pederson on the very first pitch of the ballgame but settling down from there, giving up three runs over six innings.

"Germán did his job," manager Bud Black said. "He'd like to have a couple pitches back, especially the one to Pederson. ... He pitched well enough to give us a chance."

Added Márquez: "A long outing, another quality start -- I feel happy about it, and I feel healthy. I can't control a good team. That is what it is, and I have to keep going."

It goes without saying that the friendly confines of Coors Field are not so friendly to pitchers. Rockies pitchers collectively own a 5.29 ERA at home -- which ranks last in the Majors by a considerable margin -- while posting a 4.82 mark on the road (which is still fourth-worst in baseball).

Márquez is no different. His home ERA (6.70) is just over three runs higher than his road ERA (3.57) -- so it's no big surprise that Márquez has been better on the road. But he's not only keeping runs off the board in his road starts. He's also providing valuable length.

Márquez has thrown at least six innings in 13 straight road starts, dating back to his second away game of the season on May 8 in Arizona. The only other pitchers who have matched or exceeded that streak in 2022 are Houston's Framber Valdez, who threw six innings in 14 straight starts from April 25-Sept. 12, and San Diego's Yu Darvish, whose streak is also active and dates back to May 19.

Márquez's 13 consecutive road starts of at least six innings are a franchise record, breaking a five-way tie with Ubaldo Jiménez (done twice in 2009), Jason Jennings (2006) and Brian Bohanon (2000-01). 

And yes, it is somewhat of a road phenomenon for the 27-year-old. Márquez has gone six or more innings in only nine of his 16 home starts this season. In an era where pitchers no longer routinely pitch deep into games, the young right-hander's efforts have not gone unnoticed.

"A lot of times, when you don't get wins, the value of pitching innings is important. ... And he's doing it. I commend him for that," Black said. "The lack of run support for not only Germán, but a number of our pitchers, is apparent."

Eleven of Márquez's last 13 outings on the road have been quality starts, meaning that the right-hander has consistently been able to keep his team within reach of a win. But the Rockies are 6-7 in those 13 games, thanks to an equally consistent lack of offense on the road.

That was certainly the case on Tuesday night. The Rockies came out of the gate strong, notching three base hits off Giants right-hander Logan Webb -- one of those being an RBI single off the bat of Charlie Blackmon. That seemed like a sign of good things to come; entering Tuesday, the Rockies had gone 36-25 when they scored first and 29-63 when their opponents scored first.

But after Webb's somewhat shaky start, he buckled down and put up zeros for the remainder of his outing, as the Giants regained the lead immediately after the Rockies' opening run.

The Rockies aren't playing for any hardware in the final days of the season, as they have been entrenched in last place in the NL West since early August. But Colorado is trying to finish strong nonetheless, instead looking toward a brighter future.

"It's important to finish the season healthy," Márquez said. "I know we're going to have a good year next year. You have to finish strong, healthy and keep going."