SAN FRANCISCO — Before Tuesday night’s game against the Giants, all-star third baseman Nolan Arenado talked about the state of the Rockies as their 2016 season nears its end.

“I think we are limping into the finish a little bit. … I think we are a little tired,” he said. “But we know we are close to doing something special in the next few years.”

Only time will reveal the truth about Arenado’s optimistic vision of the future. But “limping to the finish” is exactly what the Rockies are doing. San Francisco pounded rookie starter German Marquez en route to a 12-3 victory at raucous AT&T Park.

“I felt very comfortable, but I have to give credit (to the Giants),” said Marquez, who fell to 1-1 with a 6.14 ERA. “But I battled them.”

It was the Rockies’ fifth consecutive loss, one shy of their worst losing streak of the season. The road has been particularly harsh of late. They are 5-19 away from Coors Field since July 31 and have lost eight consecutive games on the road. Rockies pitchers have allowed two or more home runs in seven of those eight losses. Related Articles September 27, 2016 Rockies’ Walt Weiss would sit DJ LeMahieu if batting title hangs in balance

September 27, 2016 Nolan Arenado disappointed in Rockies’ season, proud of his historic production

September 25, 2016 Rockies’ Tyler Anderson remains winless on road as Dodgers clinch NL West title with walkoff homer

The victory kept the Giants in the thick of the National League’s increasingly wild wild-card race. Both the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals won Tuesday, leaving San Francisco a half-game behind the Mets for the top spot and St. Louis one game behind the Giants for the second wild-card berth.

Marquez, the 21-year-old right-hander who was the 2016 pitcher of the year for the Double-A Eastern League, made his second major-league start. Before the game, manager Walt Weiss said: “I think it will be a great experience for him. It’s going to be a great atmosphere. … I expect him to go out there and do well.”

Marquez fell far short of Weiss’ expectations, though he did limit the Giants to two runs over the first four innings. But he left a lot of ripe pitches hanging over the plate, and the Giants ripped him for six runs on 12 hits over 4⅓ innings. San Francisco’s four-run fifth inning included back-to-back home runs by Buster Posey and Hunter Pence, as well as a double by Denard Span and a triple by Brandon Crawford. Posey’s two-run blast to left was the 1,000th hit of his career.

“We didn’t see the finish to his pitches tonight,” Weiss said of Marquez. “His breaking ball wasn’t as sharp as it has been and his fastball was running back over the plate. He just didn’t have the crispness to his stuff like he did the last time out.”

Meanwhile, San Francisco left-hander Matt Moore baffled Colorado hitters, striking out 11 to match his career high. He didn’t walk a batter and was charged with one run on six hits in 7 ⅓ innings. Colorado Rockies MLB scoreboard

MLB standings

Box scores of Rox games

Colorado Rockies stats, roster

Rockies Mailbag

Ask mailbag questions

With his breaking ball moving in the cool Pacific air, Moore was a different pitcher from the one the Rockies beat up Sept. 5 at Coors Field. He didn’t make it through the third inning in that game, a 6-0 Rockies victory in which Moore was charged with six earned runs (including two home runs) and walked four batters.

“Moore had a really good cutter for the righties and he had a good breaking ball to the lefties tonight,” Weiss said. “And he mixed some changeups into the righties.”

Colorado’s only run came in the third on a leadoff double by Cristhian Adames, a sacrifice by Marquez and an RBI groundout by Charlie Blackmon.

DJ LeMahieu struck out in his first three at-bats before singling in the eighth. His average dipped from .350 to .349, but he still holds a slim lead over Washington’s Daniel Murphy (.347) in the race for the NL batting crown.