Senzatela's strong start gives Rockies a chance

SAN FRANCISCO -- It's been a season of ups and downs for Antonio Senzatela.

The right-hander has had moments of brilliance, coupled with devastating lows. Many of the lows came in his last outing, in which he gave up six runs on 13 hits -- both season highs -- to the Marlins.

But Wednesday was a new day, and Senzatela took that in stride. He bounced back in a big way, holding the Giants to one run in six innings to keep his team in the fight -- although the Rockies ultimately lost, 2-1, in 10 innings.

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The night ended in a no-decision for Senzatela, but it marked a moral victory on his path back to pitching like he knows he can -- although he did it in a somewhat unconventional way for him.

Senzatela struck out six Giants batters on Wednesday night. That may not sound notable, given the eye-popping figures that some other starters put up on a regular basis. But entering the game, Senzatela had struck out just 14 batters all season. His previous single-game high in 2022 was three strikeouts.

"It just happened in the game," said catcher Elias Díaz, who was behind the plate for Senzatela. "We try to get out the hitters, and if it's a strikeout, it happens. But he competed all night long, and he had a really good game."

Senzatela even struck out the side in the sixth inning to end his night, retiring Joc Pederson, Darin Ruf and Tommy La Stella in quick succession. It was the first time Senzatela had struck out the side this season. The last time he did it was Sept. 15, 2021, in a 3-2 win over the Braves.

"When I struck out Pederson, I was like, OK, I have to finish this inning," Senzatela said. "Then I struck out the side. I was like, ‘Wow, that's good.’"

At that point, Senzatela showed some emotion, punching his glove as he strode off the mound.

"A lot of times it doesn't show through television," manager Bud Black said, "but he's intense, and he cares. He pitches with a lot of internal emotion. He gets after it. That's what we love about him, the competitor in him. … I think he knew that today, for him, was a well-thrown game, and I think that he feels confident moving forward.

"I think that today was a good sign."

Senzatela's secondary arsenal was an asset for him on Wednesday night. While the majority of pitches he threw were four-seamers, he was able to set up his fastballs with offspeed offerings. Senzatela got four of his six strikeouts on his slider -- though he said one of those was actually a misclassified changeup.

Black said he and Senzatela have discussed mixing in more secondary pitches recently, and he was encouraged to see Senzatela get results with his changeup, in particular.

"I think the changeup usage was big for Antonio," Black said. "I saw 10 to 15 changeups tonight, which I think is something that he needs to do moving forward. I think that got him off the fastball."

Opponents are batting .440 against Senzatela's four-seam fastball this season, which is the highest among the 64 starting pitchers who have had at least 75 plate appearances end on four-seamers. There will likely be some regression to the mean -- in 2021, opponents batted .295 against his four-seamer -- but throughout Senzatela's career, he has had more success retiring batters with his secondary pitches.

It worked on Wednesday night, which was his second start after returning from the injured list on June 1. Senzatela looked much more like himself this outing, Díaz said.

"I know that he wants to be healthy, he wants to be the type of pitcher that he is," Díaz said. "He can give you the chance to do things to win the game."

Colorado's starters have struggled for much of the season -- the rotation's 5.20 ERA is the third-worst in the National League, trailing just the Reds (5.64) and the Nationals (5.97) -- but they may be turning a page. In the last five games, four Rockies starters have gone at least six innings, and three allowed just one earned run or fewer.

"We feel like we're pitching like us right now," Senzatela said, "so we have to keep going, keep mixing pitches, and work hard, and we're going to have good results."