The Colorado Rockies were reportedly (ROOT Sports) uncharacteristically quiet during batting practice before Wednesday night’s game against the San Diego Padres. Likely unhappy with having scored just two runs in their past two games, they got off to a hot start and never let their foot off the gas, drumming the Padres in an 11-3 win. Ian Desmond, in just his second start ever at first base, swung the big bat, smashing two no-doubt home runs and easing the concerns of those worried that Mark Reynolds has been benched.
They got started right away. Charlie Blackmon hit a lead-off double for the second game in a row, and this time the Rockies did not waste it. DJ LeMahieu hit a single up the middle to score Blackmon, and though sending him home was questionable, a good slide got in just underneath the tag. Nolan Arenado followed with an RBI double, his tenth double and 18th RBI of the season.
Desmond added two more with a laser-beam shot to left, his first home run in a Rockies uniform.
Ian Desmond’s first home run as a Rockie, No. 133 in his career pic.twitter.com/UaoJ0lLCCK
— Jake Shapiro (@Shapalicious) May 4, 2017
In the bottom of the second, on the day he was named the NL Rookie of the Month, Antonio Senzatela also recorded the first hit of his big league career. Oh, and on the mound, he went five innings giving up just two earned runs on six hits. His 2.84 ERA is still sparking and only in the least bit marred by a four-run performance against the Washington Nationals that in hindsight seems nearly superhuman.
The Rockies scored three runs in both the fourth and fifth innings. The Padres poor defense helped out in the third as failure to get Senzatela on a sac bunt and a throwing error against Blackmon directly led to all three runs. Colorado scored in a more traditional manner in the fifth, getting a solo home run from Desmond, his second of the game, and getting singles by Dustin Garneau, Alexi Amarista and DJ LeMahieu and a sac fly from Arenado to bring his RBI total to 19. This was the third multi-home run game of Desmond’s career.
In the seventh, Blackmon recorded his 25th RBI of the season already with his second double of the game, scoring Garneau who had walked. Charlie has his batting average back over .300 at .302 and is sixth in MLB in RBI despite hitting from the lead-off spot.
The Padres played a sloppy game, committing three errors leading to five unearned runs. But Colorado also hit the ball hard all night, tossing out 14 hits and still earning six of their runs. They got yet another fantastic start from 22-year-old rookie Antonio Senzatela and the offensive outburst meant a rare Rockies win that did not require the backend of the bullpen. Chris Rusin and Chad Qualls undramatically finished out the game.
It was a good win for the Rockies but it was a big win for the Rockies offense. They needed this. But they also can’t afford to relax. They’ve proven they can beat the Dodgers and the Giants and Kershaw and Bumgarner and Cueto but they still haven’t proven they can win the series’ they are supposed to. Get the “W” tomorrow is important for the still- developing identity of this team.
The Rockies moved to 17-11 on the season and are in back in first place in the NL West.
