Antonio Senzatela couldn’t be the stopper the Rockies needed, and the Colorado bats had no answer for James Paxton as the Mariners took the third game in a row between the two teams. The Rockies have lost three games in a row for only the second time this season, but remain only a half-game back of Los Angeles in the National League West.
On four occasions this season Senzatela has followed a Rockies loss with a victory, but he could not deliver on Wednesday. The rookie right-hander allowed four runs on five hits and two walks over five innings, suffering his second loss of the year. The Mariners did most of their damage in a three-run second inning in which Senzatela allowed the first three batters to reach, and compounded his problems with a wild pitch. Although he struck out seven batters, a career high, Senzatela threw only 58 strikes on 94 pitches on the night.
Paxton, meanwhile, was a strike-throwing machine for Seattle. He struck out six rockies over 5.1 innings, pounding the zone with 57 of his 74 pitches. He allowed just three hits and did not walk a batter. Mariners manager Scott Servais went to his bullpen early, as Paxton was making his first start in nearly a month. Paxton was placed on the DL in early May with a left forearm strain, but showed no signs of that injury in a dominant performance against Colorado. Steve Cishek pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief for Seattle to earn a hold.
The Rockies will try and avoid back-to-back series losses to the Mariners in an afternoon game Thursday. Seattle took two from the Rockies at Coors Field before Wednesday’s contest at Safeco Field. Kyle Freeland (5-3 , 3.59 ERA) will go for Colorado. Yovani Gallardo (2-5 , 5.76 ERA) will try for the sweep for Seattle.