On the 50th Anniversary of the first moon landing, the Colorado crew witnessed a blastoff that traveled much higher than the 14ers dotting their mountainous state.
The on-field temperature felt like playing a game on the launch pad amid liftoff, 94 degrees at first pitch, but with 44% humidity it felt more like 105 degrees.
Before the game, Bud Black wasn’t nearly as hot, having cooled down since his first ejection of the season Friday night. In the wake of five straight losses, he said, “I don’t think we’re tired. We’re frustrated. Just about how things are going… It’s been a tough few weeks, for sure.”
The Rockies received no relief from DJ LeMahieu who continued to make his former club pay with a three-hit day. In the first, he came around to score on an Aaron Judge double after a leadoff single. Thanks to flight commander Trevor Story and mission specialist Tony Wolters, Judge was thrown out at home on a bang-bang play to help Antonio Senzatela and Colorado quiet the Yankees, temporarily.
No less than an inning later, the original pinstripers took off with five runs against Senzatela, quickly scratching any hopes for the Rockies to contend. Chad Bettis was roughed up for three runs in the fourth and New York throttled ahead to a 9-0 lead.
The outing by the 24-year-old Venezuelan is the shortest of his career and begat seventh time in eight games Colorado’s pitching surrendered eight runs or more. “The walks came back to haunt us again today,” Black said postgame. “Senza, five out of thirteen first pitch strikes, pitching behind the whole (game), not setting the tone in each and every at bat. That’s got to flip.”
Carlos Estévez impressed after giving up a single to Austin Romine, but he struck out four of the next five batters he faced, including the heart of Bombers’ lineup in order: Judge, Aaron Hicks and Edwin Encarnación.
Masahiro Tanaka dazzled over the five frames, holding the visitors to just two hits and plenty of weak contact around the infield. In the sixth, the Rockies brought him back to earth.
In the sixth, Charlie Blackmon started a one-out rally with a single and wheeled around to score on a Story double. After David Dahl walked, Nolan Arenado blasted a 414 ft home run into Monument Park in center field. Daniel Murphy doubled and Ian Desmond drove home his 49th run with a single reducing the deficit, 9-5.
Once Tanaka got chased, the mission turned to the bullpen to empty the tank and return to the plot lines of reuniting Yankees players with their former club. Tommy Kahnle (2014-15) and David Hale 2015-16) came on to pitch the seventh and the final two innings, respectively.
With Saturday’s loss, Colorado drops to 2-13 over the last 15 games, a stretch even worse than the 3-12 record to begin the season.
