LDN - Sports

Rockies' Senzatela shuts down Cardinals

[May 27, 2017] DENVER -- Coming off consecutive five-inning outings, Colorado Rockies rookie Antonio Senzatela responded with the best start of his young career Friday night.

He pitched a career-high eight innings as the Rockies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-0 for their most lopsided victory this season. The Rockies blew the game open with an eight-run eighth, tying their season high for the most runs in an inning.

Senzatela, 22, gave up five hits and, thanks to four double-play grounders all on sliders, got 15 outs on ground balls. He struck out three and didn't issue a walk in his 98-pitch outing. Senzatela said in his last bullpen session he focused on throwing the ball down and honing his fastball, efforts that paid off against the Cardinals in his 10th career start.

"He threw strikes with the fastball where I think in the previous couple (starts) the fastball was just a little bit off the plate," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "He was around the zone (the past two starts); he's not all over. Today, he dialed it in."

The win was the eighth in 11 games for the Rockies, who have outscored their opponents 72-35 in that stretch. The eight-run eighth included a two-run homer by Mark Reynolds, one of nine hits -- five for extra bases -- in the uprising.

Charlie Blackmon, who finished a double shy of the cycle, went 4-for-4 and drove in three runs, increasing his major league-leading RBI total to 45. He hit his 12th homer in the eighth, giving the Rockies a 3-0 lead and driving Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez from the game after 7 1/3 innings. Later in the inning, Blackmon singled to right-center to drive in the final run of the game.

"When I hit it, I was thinking double the whole way," said Blackmon, who tripled home a run in the third and raised his average to .337. "But you have to have some respect for the game. That to me is not a situation where you try to stretch something into a double just for the sake of getting a double. This game is hard, got to have a lot of respect for it. I'm really trying hard, everybody in this league is trying hard. I think you respect the game, respect your opponents."

Through Colorado's 50 games, Senzatela and fellow rookie starters Kyle Freeland, German Marquez and Jeff Hoffman have gone 17-5 with a 3.35 ERA in a combined 27 starts, 20 of which the Rockies have won.

"I don't know if it's deception or extra life that he has," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of Senzatela. "He's using a lot of hard fastballs, pounded the strike zone, (getting) swings that were just off. Everytime we'd get something going, he was able to put enough of something different to get a ground ball. We had four double plays. That accounts for a lot of putting out fires. We couldn't get much going."

The double plays came in the first, second, seventh and eighth, ending the latter three innings and were a big reason Senzatela faced just 25 batters, one over the minimum in eight innings.

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Rockies starting pitcher Antonio Senzatela (49) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Senzatela (7-1) is tied for the major league lead in wins with Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw and two American Leaguers -- Minnesota's Ervin Santana and Houston's Dallas Keuchel.

"That's good for me and for the team, too," said Senzatela, who lowered his ERA to 3.19.

The shutout win was Colorado's fourth this season and third at Coors Field. The Cardinals were blanked for the third time overall and the first on the road while losing for the seventh time in nine games.

Relievers Matt Bowman and Miguel Socolovich followed Martinez to the mound in the eighth and yielded a combined eight hits and seven runs.

"Carlos was good," Matheny said. "Taking a two-run game in this park into the eighth in this park is great. The guy at the top of their order is really hot. He's taking great swings and creating damage even in situations that we think might not be that critical. ... They kept adding on and made it look a lot uglier than it was."

NOTES: Cardinals C Yadier Molina extended his hitting streak to 15 games, one shy of his career-high. ... Cardinals OF Stephen Piscotty left the team and went home for unspecified personal reasons. ... Cardinals OF/1B Jose Martinez (left groin strain) began a rehab assignment at high Class A Palm Beach. He has been on the 10-day disabled list since May 7. ... Rockies RHP Jon Gray (left foot stress fracture) stopped wearing his walking boot Thursday and will throw his first bullpen session without the boot Sunday. ... Rockies RHP Chad Bettis (cancer) is scheduled to have a CT scan and a blood test Monday and, if all goes well, travel Friday to Denver and meet with club officials. ... Rockies C Tom Murphy (fractured right hand), who was injured March 11, is expected to begin a rehab assignment next week.

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