Rockies Review: May 10, 2017 - Senzatela wins against Dodgers and celebrates his late mother

No matter what happens during his playing career, whether it’s multiple All-Star Game selections, Cy Young Awards or a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, the biography of Antonio Senzatela will have a large section that focuses on his mother.

Before signing with Colorado as an international free agent out of Venezuela, Senzatela was raised on baseball from an early age: his father bought a glove for his baby boy, his grandfather made a tiny bat for the boy, and his mother was everything else that was needed to develop a professional athlete.

Senzatela moved seamlessly through the minor leagues, never posting an earned run average above 3.11 in any of his first five seasons as a professional.

His major league debut on April 6, 2017 was soon followed by an emotional start on Mother’s Day less than a year removed from the passing of his mother, Nidya Yusbelis Rondon.

With his mother’s name emblazoned on his mitt in pink stitching and the support of teammates in the form of three first inning runs, the 22-year-old right-hander held his own once more and earned the win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, 9-6.

Considering the Rockies have an unfortunate 11-16 record on the celebratory holiday, Senza had something special for the occasion, sharing, “She’s watching me. I know she is.”

Inauguration Sensation

In their 31st game as an MLB franchise, Colorado enjoyed antipodal firsts in a 7-4 win at Mile High Stadium over the San Francisco Giants in 1993: starting pitcher Armando Reynoso became the first pitcher to hit a home run, and Charlie Hayes was the first player to be ejected from a game.

Good Pitching Beats Good Hitting

Hall of Famer Greg Maddux won his 350th games during the Rockies 3-2 against the San Diego Padres in 2008. The 42-year-old became only the ninth pitcher in major league history to reach the milestone and just the third to accomplish the feat since 1928, joining Warren Spahn and Roger Clemens.

Eric Young Jr. slapped a leadoff single against St. Louis Cardinals’ rookie Shelby Miller who proceeded to retire the next 27 batters in order. The 22-year-old tossed his first career complete game shutout during Colorado’s 3-0 loss.

Fun Fact

German Márquez hurled eight innings and combined with Greg Holland for the rookie’s first shutout on this date in 2017. In the seventh, the right-handed rookie helped himself with a single that scored two runs in the 3-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

On This Day In Baseball History

In 2007, the first Korean position player to have played in the majors, Hee-Seop Choi, signs with the KIA Tigers to play in the Korean Baseball Organization for the first time. Choi spent parts of four seasons in the majors with the Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins and Los Angeles Dodgers, and is the third South Korean player to transition from an international signing in America to a first-time KBO player, following Seung Song and Jung Bong.