Bettis strong, Senzatela impressive in Rockies 4-2 win over Diamondbacks

Chad Bettis pitched deeper into the game than any Colorado Rockies’ pitcher has so far this spring, going five innings in a 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

This was partly due to the time in the schedule, when pitchers begin to stretch out into their more typical pitch totals, and the fact that the last three games before this one featured some pretty ugly lines from the starters who had to be pulled early. There was no such concern for Bettis on Monday, keeping the scoreboard clean through the first three innings, giving up one run (while inducing a double play) in the fourth and another in the fifth. Two runs on six hits with four strikeouts. He didn’t walk anybody.

That would be enough, though the offense wasn’t exactly flowing easily for the boys in purple either.

The fourth could have been a huge inning.

It began with a walk from Gerardo Parra and then Arizona caught a brief break when a Trevor Story line drive bounced over the wall in right for a ground-rule double, keeping Parra at third. After falling behind in the count 0-2, David Dahl would work a seven-pitch walk to load the bases with nobody out.

Tom Murphy, known for his precipitous power, sprayed a soft single to center, scoring a run a keeping the bases juiced. The story of the spring, Ryan McMahon, came through with the big hit, roping a two-run double down the right-field line.

But Brendan Rodgers, Raimel Tapia, and Ian Desmond all struck out to strand the runners and prevent the potential route.

Colorado got an insurance run in the seventh on a triple from Mike Tauchman, scoring Rodgers who had singled.

Tauchman is 12-for-28 (.316) with three doubles, three triples, and a home run this spring.

McMahon now 16-for-45 (.356) with six doubles and six RBI.

In his second game back from injury, Parra went 1-for-1 with a pair of walks.

Ian Desmond went 1-for-3 with a double and two strikeouts to bring his spring average to

Almost as, if not more, impressive than Bettis’ start was Antonio Senzatela’s finish. The youngster who is battling hard for a roster position come Opening Day pitched the final four innings, allowing one baserunner on a single and striking out two.

Colorado takes on the Seattle Mariners Tuesday at 2:10 MST. Kyle Freeland is scheduled to face off against Rob Whalen.