Rockies blow 3-0 lead as Colorado drops third straight game

Antonio Senzatela couldn’t stand success. After being staked to a three-run lead on RBI by Charlie Blackmon, Trevor Story and Ryan McMahon by the third inning, Senzatela proceeded to cough it all up by the bottom of the fourth before being pulled after 4 2/3 innings, nine hits, three earned runs and a whopping 104 pitches.

“They put me in a lot of (deep) counts. I got to 3-2 too many times,” Senzatela explained. “They fouled off a lot of pitches. (Eduardo) Escobar, in the first inning, was (an 11-pitch) at-bat.”

Carlos Estevez relieved Senzatela and threw a scoreless, hitless 1 1/3 innings to stop the bleeding, but by then, the Rockies’ offense had vanished. Robert Stephenson gave up two runs in the seventh after committing an error at first base to give the Giants the lead for good.

The Rockies, who fell to a major league-worst 1-9 on the road this season, will get a day off before resuming their series with the Diamondbacks on Saturday.

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NEXT UP: Rockies (9-16, 5th in NL West) at Diamondbacks (13-12, 4th, NL West) | Friday, Apr. 30 at 7:40 p.m. | COL: Jon Gray (3-1, 2.54 ERA) vs ARZ: Madison Bumgarner (2-2, 6.31 ERA).

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NOTES

• The Rockies are now 4-13 (.235) against the rest of the NL West.

• Charlie Blackmon’s bat is definitely coming around. Blackmon, still hitting only .194 on the season, is 5-for-11 with a pair of doubles in his last three games.

• Matt Adams joined the Rockies on Thursday, striking out in a pinch-hitting appearance to end the game. Adams, 32, has pop in his bat that the team desperately needs. “He’ll bring an element of danger off the bench each and every night against a bullpen,” manager Bud Black said.”He’ll bring left-handed power when he starts a game.” To make room for Adams on the roster, outfielder Sam Hilliard will be sent to Triple-A Albuquerque.

• Yency Almonte — last seen giving up five baserunners and three earned runs in 1/3 of an inning on Wednesday — was placed on the 10-day injured list with a bruised right hand.

• Justin Lawrence, promoted after Yency Almonte was placed on the IL earlier in the day, made his major-league debut on Thursday, pitching a scoreless eight inning while hitting triple digits on the radar gun.

• Jon Gray, Friday’s pitcher at Arizona, took a no-hitter into the seventh inning the last time the two teams played, earning the win in a 7-3 Rockies victory on Apr. 8.

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THE FINAL WORD

“You saw the Diamondbacks throw five guys, and they each put up a zero. We threw three guys, (Robert) Stephenson got nicked, and that’s the ball game.” — Manager Bud Black.

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STARTING LINEUP

LF Raimel Tapia
2B Garrett Hampson
SS Trevor Story
3B Ryan McMahon
1B C.J. Cron
RF Charlie Blackmon
CF Yonathan Daza
C Dom Nunez
SP Antonio Senzatela

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INJURY WATCH

• Yency Almonte (bruised right hand) was placed on the 10-day IL on Apr. 29.
• Kyle Freeland (strained left shoulder) was placed on the 10-day IL on Apr. 1. He has been throwing bullpen sessions and is expected back in early May.
• Brendan Rodgers (strained right hamstring) was placed on the 10-day IL on Apr. 1. He has been practicing and could potentially return before the end of April.
• Chris Owings (left thumb surgery) was placed on the 60-day IL in mid-April and will likely be out until the All-Star break.
• Scott Oberg (blood clots) had surgery prior to the end of Spring Training. He was placed on the 60-day IL on Mar. 27 and his season is in doubt.

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Shawn Drotar is the host of “The Fan Late Night with Shawn Drotar;” weeknights from 10:00 p.m. to midnight — only on 104.3 The Fan. Follow him on Twitter at @sdrotar.

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