Rockies lose heart breaker to Reds with late implosion

For the first time in 2017, the Colorado Rockies absolutely collapsed late, allowing a Cincinnati Reds rally, taking them from an 8-3 lead to a 12-8 loss.

Colorado, as they so often do, scored a run in the first inning. But they lost for just the fourth time this season when doing so.

If you took a blind guess after having watched the rest of the games so far this season as to who drove in that run, you would almost certainly be correct. That’s right. It was Mark Reynolds who took the MLB lead in RBI at 39 with a single that scored DJ LeMahieu.

Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela didn’t have his typical command in this game. It happens to just about everyone and he was able to get a handle on it as the game went on, but in the first few innings, he was missing at times by feet instead of inches. He gave up lead-off walks in the first and second, the first of which did not come back to haunt him, the second of which tied the game when Devin Mesoraco singled in Eugenio Suarez who is quickly becoming a Rockies-killer. (More on that later.)

Senzatela showed signs of frustration for the first time all season in the third. His command was clearly not where he wanted it to be. After allowing a single to Joey Votto, he hit Adam Duvall, balked, and then walked Eugenio Suarez. Scott Schebler hit a sac fly and Jose Peraza singled to make it 3-1, Cincinnati before Senzatela could strike out Meseraco with a visible sigh of relief.

The bottom of the fourth looked like it would be the frame that finally broke Senzatela and saddled him with his first real ugly outing of 2017. After walking Billy Hamilton for the second time (a cardinal sin if ever there was one) and giving up a single to Zack Cozart Senza got one of the best clutch hitters in all of MLB this season — Votto — to ground into an inning-ending double play. He got some help from Amarista and LeMahieu who made a tough turn with the runner going, and the Rockies kept the deficit at one run.

Eerily similar to the way things unfolded on Friday night when the Rockies scored eight runs in the sixth, Colorado suddenly broke out on offense and jumped all over Tim Adleman and Drew Storen.

First, Charlie Blackmon manufactured a run to tie it at three. He singled up the middle, stole second base, advanced to third on an overthrow on the attempt, and scored on a groundout from LeMahieu. Then stuff got weird. Nolan Arenado walked and Reynolds hit a single to center (so far, so normal) and while Rockies fans were holding their breath in hopes that Arenado’s slide into third base didn’t hurt him (it didn’t) the umpires in New York were reviewing the play. Though he was originally called safe and the rules say overturning a play like that requires “conclusive evidence” the call was, in fact, overturned despite it appearing both that Arenado had maintained contact with the bad

Though he was originally called safe and the rules say overturning a play like that requires “conclusive evidence” the call was, in fact, overturned despite it appearing both that Arenado had maintained contact with the bad and that if he did indeed ever lose contact, it was because his hand was stepped on. Fielders aren’t supposed to be allowed to push base runners off the bag to get an out but that is the second time it has happened to the Rockies this season.

It looked for a moment like the Reds would luck out of any further damage but Carlos Gonzalez worked a walk and Ian Desmond delivered a clutch single to right to put the Rockies on top 4-3. Still, after that hit, Rockies fans could rightfully still have felt cheated out of an extra run but karma swung back to their side when left fielder Adam Duvall lost an Alexi Amarista pop up in the sun. It went down as an RBI double for “little ninja” and yet it was still not the most surprising swing of the bat that inning. Senzatela, who came into this inning having narrowly escaped putting his team into a big hole, found himself in position to swing the game the other way. And he did.

Bud Black could have opted to take the rookie out, but with the 5-3 lead and a heavily-used bullpen — and apparently a decent amount of confidence that Senzatela still had some good pitches in his arm for this game — he left him in and the kid shot a single up the middle to make it 7-3. Blackmon added another RBI on a single before Arenado finally flew out to right out with the bases loaded to end the inning.

Senzatela stayed on to pitch the fifth and gave up a mammoth home run to Suarez (he really has this team’s number) but showed an interesting adjustment. He stopped trying to guide the baseball and just started throwing at 97 mph, even touching 99 at one point, and pounding the strike zone. That’s part of why Suarez’ ball went so far, but it also got the job done.

His final line: 5 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 5 K. … … … (2 RBI)

But hey, he left the game with a four-run lead. This thing wasn’t on him.

Chad Qualls came on in the sixth and promptly gave up a pair of hits and a walk including a solo shot to Mesoraco. Mike Dunn inherited the one on, one out situation with Votto at the plate. He lost the battle, walking Votto who worked the full count. Duvall produced a heck of a swing on a breaking pitch that fooled him a bit to hit a soft liner to left to score a run and Suarez finally made an out but it was a productive one, a sac fly to center that made it a one-run ballgame at 8-7. Scott Schebler then gave the Rockies a dose of their own medicine with a huge two-out swing of the bat, smashing a three-run home run over the right field fence (left on left) his 11th of the season to give the Reds 10-8 lead. Just like that, the game flipped upside down again.

Scott Oberg gave up another pair of runs over the final few frames and for the first time this season a game really got away from the Rockies late.

Colorado went from down one to up five to down four so fast they could momentarily see into the speed force.

Probably the most frustrating loss of the season. Fans will be clamoring for the middle relief to see and upgrade, and honestly, Carlos Estevez should be here instead of one of Oberg, Lyles, or Qualls, but this is also the kind of crazy game you don’t want to overreact to. If they bounce back and win on Sunday, the Rockies will take their sixth road series without having lost one yet. Eyes forward.