In what should come as a surprise to nobody after they were swept in four games by the Pittsburgh Pirates, one of the worst teams in the National League, the Colorado Rockies were swept in three by the best team in the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
After an absolute barrage of runs in the first game and a late come-from-behind win in the second game, the Dodgers cruised to a comfortable win Wednesday night over the Rockies who dropped their ninth in a row.
Starting pitcher Antonio Senzatela had another rough outing, lasting just three innings while giving up five runs.
He gave up another leadoff home run to Joc Pederson, giving the Los Angeles’ outfielder two in the set. In the third, Senzatela was tagged for four runs on a series of singles and fielder’s choice plays from Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, and Matt Beaty.
Colorado got on the board in the fourth thanks to a walk from Nolan Arenado, a double by Ryan McMahon and a two-out single for Drew Butera who was recently added to the 40-man roster and promoted from Triple-A.
But the Dodgers answered both of those runs with two of their own in the bottom half of the fourth inning. Pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu singled with two away and Pederson, who continues to haunt the Rockies, blasted his second long ball of the game, delivering the dagger against reliever Wes Parsons.
The Rockies got one back on singles from Charlie Blackmon, Arenado, and Ian Desmond. The bullpen managed to pick it up from there, but the offense could not make a comeback.
DJ Johnson, called up before the game, impressed in 1.2 IP, striking out four and allowing just one baserunner on a walk. Sam Howard was next, retiring both batters he faced as did Jairo Diaz who also recorded a strikeout.
Colorado is off to San Diego for a three-game set before returning home to Denver to face the St. Louis Cardinals at the start of a nine-game homestand.
0 Comments (1 conversation)
Gypsum
Why are the Rockies giving playing time to Drew Butera? Shouldn’t they be giving Dom Nunez all of the ab’s? Am I the only person who is paying attention to the Rockies these days? What happened to the careers of Hoffman and Sensatella? They were both promising prospects in 2017… both have regressed. Do the Rockies take player development seriously? Do you think there is any way that they can bring back Foster, Holmes, and Magadan next year? If they don’t clean house, and upgrade (or establish) their player development staff, it will be tough to watch them on tv, much less attend spring training, or go to games at Coors. Just venting here…
Patrick Lyons
Great question with a not-so-great answer. Ultimately, the move is more about Senzatela having a caddy. With Butera catching Senza, we could start to see Nunez catching two starters and Wolters catching two starters; Two Bags has been catching three starters for most of the season.
The development of all starting pitchers other than Gray and Marquez has been disappointing for this organization right now, so venting is great option for getting through this stretch. I’m baffled as to how they are still losing games by the handful like this. The affects of Triple-A starting pitching has definitely taken a toll on the offense, creating lopsided games or close ones that could have been easy Colorado victories with an offense more inclined to continue to rake. As it were, it seems futile when it’s 3-0 after one inning or when the bullpen throws away any kind of lead. (Ok. Now maybe I’m venting! Lol.)
As for the coaching staff, everyone will be on the hot seat going into 2020. While we might see a sacrificial firing of Foster or Holmes, the juiced baseball have much – if not everything – to do with Colorado’s atrocious pitching. An extension for Black or not, it will be hard to brush aside the performance of the club if they don’t get it done early next season. A lot is riding on April and May for this club, more than ever before.
Thanks again for the comment. Keep ’em coming!