The Colorado Rockies are in the midst of falling to the low point of their season.
After the club got off to a franchise-worst start, they appeared to be bouncing back, going 28-15 after a 3-12 start. Now, at 46-52 after an 11-5 loss to the Yankees, they’re showing a season-worst form.
The loss was the sixth in a row for the Rockies. They’re now 2-13 in their last 15 games dating back to before the All-Star break.
Ahead are takeaways from the latest rout.
Senzatela’s slide continues
Antonio Senzatela’s July form surely isn’t one he’d like to keep.
After a pair of starts with seven-or-more earned runs leading into his nod in the Bronx, a rebound was needed. Instead, he hit his lowest point of the year.
The youngster got only four of the 13 batters he faced out, with his 1 1/3 innings pitched serving as the shortest start of his career. He allowed seven hits, six earned runs and walked a pair.
The trouble started early for Senzatela. Aaron Judge – only the second hitter he faced – squared a ball up, driving it 111.4 miles per hour for a run-scoring double.
He was able to retire the next three hitters before the floodgates opened. The Yankees led off the second frame with three consecutive hits, followed by two more walks and hits apiece before Senzatela was pulled. The only out of the frame came on a strikeout of Brett Gardner.
The latest disastrous outing for the Rockies brought the rotation’s earned run average to 9.27 in July. Senzatela’s season ERA rose to 6.29.
Yankees go ballistic at the plate
The audio of Aaron Boone’s ejection against the Rays has gone viral. Within his rant, he labeled his lineup as a group of ‘savages’.
For the Rockies, it’s hard to argue.
The Yankees put up eight runs in the opener of the series, a fair total for a lineup featuring Aaron Judge, Edwin Encarnacion and Gary Sanchez, among others. On Saturday, they put the foot on the pedal.
In just the first five innings, each Yankees’ hitter – outside of Gardner – had tallied a hit. Six of the seven drove in a run, the second-most for the club in a single game this year.
On the year, the hosts’ run differential is now up to a staggering +142 on the year, the top mark in the American League and second in the majors behind the Dodgers (+152).
Story and Arenado refuse to be shut out
The sixth inning was the lone glimmer of hope in a lost day for the Rockies.
Down 9-0, the Rockies appeared to be lost at the plate against Masahiro Tanaka. He’d eased through their order multiple times, allowing only two hits in his first five frames.
Then, the Rockies offense woke up.
Charlie Blackmon singled, Trevor Story doubled and the shutout was over. After a David Dahl walk, Nolan Arenado made sure they’d close the gap to a degree:
𝗧𝗛𝗘 pride of El Toro High School.#NolanBeingNolan 😍 pic.twitter.com/5fdYP7b4aJ
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) July 20, 2019
The long ball was the 21st of the year for Arenado.
By the end of the sixth, the Rockies had cut the lead to 9-5, with a chance for a historic comeback in front of them.
The Yankees bullpen went on to go three scoreless innings to end the threat, but the Rockies salvaged one of the more gloomy days of the year to a degree behind the aid of their stars.
Pitcher’s fielding practice fails to pay off
If the outing for Senzatela wasn’t bad enough, the fielding enacted by the Rockies’ pitchers was worse.
The trouble for Senzatela began with an error of his own. On a Gleyber Torres single to left field, Raimel Tapia took his time getting the ball in.
Extending a single into a two-base effort, Torres forced a throwing error from Senzatela – the cutoff man on the play. The gaffe scored Didi Gregorious from third, subsequently serving as the precursor to the game being broken wide open.
Later in the game, with reliever Chad Bettis on the mound, the woes continued.
On a comebacker from former Rockies’ standout, D.J. LeMahieu, Bettis fumbled the ball, eventually tossing it up the line and allowing the former to reach second.
Fielding, hitting and pitching have all begun to falter for the Rockies. The struggles have been a key reason to the club slowly falling out of the playoff race.