Rockies dig 9-0 hole, rally for wild 17-16 win

Rockies Report, Game 109:

ROCKIES BOTTOM LINE: It began thusly against the Local IX at 20th and Blake on an 84-degree Friday night:

Single, single, single, single, grand slam, single, walk.

The Rockies dug themselves a 5-0 hole before recording an out 23 pitches into the game and a 9-0 chasm before coming to the plate for the first time.

And bit by bit, they climbed out of it.

Chipping away at the Pirates on what proved to be an exhausting night that saw 414 pitches thrown by 10 pitchers — five for each team — the Rockies climbed back into the game with three runs in the third inning, two in the fourth and four in the fifth.

Still, it only brought the Rockies back so far; the Pirates tacked on three runs in the fourth and fifth innings at the expense of a leaky Rockies bullpen that walked three batters in those innings.

Then, the Rox finally walked off the Pirates with a five-run night at the expense of Dennis Santana, thrust into the closer role after the trade of David Bednar to the New York Yankees.

Brenton Doyle capped a 4-for-5 night with a two-run blast to left field, the final, stunning blow to compete the comeback from a nine-run deficit for a wild 17-16 win in front of 36,030 delirious onlookers.

Coors Field ✨ Magic ✨ at its finest pic.twitter.com/q2IqLVmwWk

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 2, 2025

“That’s the best win I’ve ever been involved in,” interim manager Warren Schaeffer said after the game.

Even in the “Coors Canaveral” days of yore, there had never been a game quite like this. The 25 runs scored by the teams in the first five innings — after which the Pirates led 15-10 — were the most amassed by both teams through five frames in Coors Field history.

Comparatively, the game settled down for a little bit after that. Jimmy Herget plunked Joey Bart with the bases full to bring home Andrew McCutchen in the sixth inning, pushing the Pirates’ lead back to six runs.

But that was all for the Pirates.

Yanquiel Fernández brought the Rox back within 16-12 in the eighth inning with his first career home run, a two-run shot to right center field. That set the stage for the ninth, when five-straight Rockies reached base at Santana’s expense, with Doyle providing the final voltage on an electric night.

ROCKIES STARTER’S REPORT

This season, the first inning and Senzatela go together like lamb and tuna fish; he has an 11.76 ERA. Frankly, the rest of the innings haven’t been much better, which is why he leads Major League Baseball in losses.

But Friday night’s start was particularly calamitous. It took 23 pitches for him to record an out; by the time he did, five runs were on the board. After forcing that 6-4-3 double play from Jared Triolo, Senzatela gave up a single and a walk, and that ended his night.

“I know he had some sort of blister going on tonight; there was something physical going on,” Schaeffer said.

Andrew McCutchen ensured maximum damage for Senzatela by homering off Carson Palmquist five pitches after relieving Senzatela, for whom the only solace was that he escaped without a loss thanks to the Rockies’ epic rally.

BITS AND PIECES

IT WAS DECIDED FOR THE ROCKIES WHEN: Remarkably, it was NOT after digging a 9-0 hole in the first inning, thanks to the offense chopping away at the Buccos’ early bulge. Of course, it was on Doyle’s walk-off shot.

NUMBER TO NOTE: 3 — Number of Rockies with four hits Friday: Ezequiel Tovar, Warming Bernabel and Doyle. Three other Rockies logged two hits: Hunter Goodman, Thairo Estrada and Mickey Moniak. Fernández, Doyle and Goodman all had home runs. Bernabel came a double shy of a cycle and increased his OPS since his call-up to a scalding 1.480.

WHAT’S NEXT: All-Star Game starter Paul Skenes gets the call for Pittsburgh. Colorado counters with winless Austin Gomber. Pittsburgh is just 11-11 in Skenes’ starts, despite his 1.83 ERA and microscopic 0.902 WHIP. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. MDT.

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