The Colorado Rockies were unable to carry momentum over from their last victory and lost their series opener versus the San Francisco Giants Tuesday night, 14-4.
The loss drops the Rockies record to 4-9 this season against teams in the National League West and their overall mark to 16-20.
Ahead are takeaways from the Rockies’ loss.
Another short start from Senzatela
Rockies’ starting pitcher Antonio Senzatela labored once again on the mound and was unable to deliver a strong outing at Coors Field.
Senzatela managed to work a clean first inning and even had a lead by the time he took the mound in the second. However, he lost some life on his pitches in the second inning and former All-Star Evan Longoria made him pay.
With a full count, Senzatela grooved a 95 mile per hour fastball down the middle that Longoria crushed over the raised wall in right-center field to tie the game at a run apiece.
Senzatela’s struggles boiled over to the fourth inning. After recording the first two outs of the inning with relative ease, Brandon Belt ripped a double to left field which followed with a walk to Longoria, prompting a mound visit.
Despite an attempt to ease tensions, Senzatela crumbled against Mac Williamson, surrendering a devastating three-run blast to push San Francisco ahead, 4-1.
The turmoil did not stop there.
Senzatela allowed a single to Brandon Crawford, prompting yet another mound visit that yielded the same result, a home run, this time off the bat of Kevin Pillar. The two-run shot extended the Giants lead to 6-1, making the deficit all the more difficult to overcome for the Rockies’ offense.
The right-hander took the mound in the fifth inning but did not escape the frame, departing with a line of 4.2 innings pitched, surrendering seven runs on eight hits while striking out three batters and allowing three home runs.
Nolan and Chuck stay hot
Rockies’ heavyweights Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon stayed hot at the dish, collecting three hits and generating a run between the pair.
Tuesday’s performance continues a hot streak at the plate for both players.
Blackmon led the game off for the Rockies with a solo home run, his fifth long ball of the year.
Bringing the Nazty early! https://t.co/V0zY4YnLAP pic.twitter.com/8h5uEDmD1W
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) May 8, 2019
Blackmon has picked up the slack since sputtering at the dish to start the season, hitting .350 (28-for-80) with eight doubles, three triples, five home runs and 15 RBI over his last 18 games.
Arenado had a pair of hits in the ballgame which marked his fifth multi-hit game in his last six contests. Arenado is hitting 13-for-27 during that span which is good for a .481 batting average and ranks first in the National League with 19 extra-base hits during that time.
Ian Desmond, Raimel Tapia and Chris Iannetta also logged multi-hit games, yet the Rockies managed to generate just four runs.
Chris Iannetta is back
Playing in just his third game since returning from the injured list, Chris Iannetta established his presence within the Rockies’ lineup Tuesday.
The veteran catcher had himself a nice day at the dish, recording a base knock and solo home run in the fifth inning.
https://twitter.com/ATTSportsNetRM/status/1125951789482807297
The 36-year-old is the best catcher in franchise history and is the leader in games played, runs, hits, RBI’s and walks.
More of the same would go a long way for a club that has been without a consistent hitting catcher for multiple years.
Two out struggles
The Rockies pitching staff struggled mightily throughout the game, but especially with two outs, as 13 of the Giants’ 14 runs came with with two down in the frame.
Just about every pitcher used in Tuesday’s game struggled. Senzatela allowed seven runs in less than two innings of work, Yency Almonte allowed a hit and two walks in just a third of an inning and both Seung-Hwan Oh and DJ Johnson struggled in their respective outings.
Colorado entered the game winners in 18 of their last 20 games against the Giants at Coors Field.