DENVER — Two batters into Friday’s series opener against the Diamondbacks, it was clear Antonio Senzatela wasn’t sharp.
And two innings into the game, it felt like the outcome was already decided.
Senzatela’s departure with an apparent shoulder issue after a couple frames of work left the bullpen to hold the fort and and the offense to pick up the slack, neither of which happened in a 9-3 defeat at Coors Field.
The Diamondbacks jumped on the Rockies quickly, needing only four pitches to plate a run off the inconsistent Senzatela. Josh Rojas led off with a double and Alek Thomas followed with an RBI triple. Christian Walker then singled Thomas home to make it 2-0.
Senzatela didn’t look any better in the second, when the right-hander gave up a 426-foot homer to center field by Carson Kelly before departing from the game after the inning.
Southpaw Ty Blach took over and performed admirably, tossing four innings of one-run ball. His lone blemish came in the sixth, when David Peralta hit a hanging curveball 420 feet into the Rockies’ bullpen in right-center field.
Colorado’s offense, meanwhile, did little against Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly.
The Rockies plated an unearned run in the fifth and Ryan McMahon roped his seventh homer of the year 429 feet to right field off Kelly in the seventh, but that wasn’t enough to make up for the Diamondbacks tagging right-hander Robert Stephenson for a pair of runs in both the seventh and the eighth.
Charlie Blackmon added a homer in the eighth to make it 8-3 — the second birthday homer of his career — but the Diamondbacks got the run right back on a wild pitch by Carlos Estevez in the ninth.
As a silver lining, the Rockies defense was stellar as Colorado dropped to 33-44 on the year, two games behind Arizona in the cellar of the National League West. McMahon had two web gems at third base, and shortstop Jose Iglesias had a backhanded play with a spinning throw that wowed the crowd.
Meanwhile, over in Philadelphia, Nolan Arenado hit for his second career cycle. The Cardinals’ third baseman first career cycle came with Colorado, of course, when Arenado hit a walk-off homer on Father’s Day in 2017 to complete the feat at Coors Field.
