Senzatela pitches Rockies past Padres
DENVER -- A superb start by Antonio Senzatela in his Coors Field debut and three solo home runs carried the Colorado Rockies to a 3-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night.
Nolan Arenado, who has hit safely in eight of the Rockies' nine games, broke a 2-2 tie when he led off the seventh inning with his third homer. It came against Miguel Diaz (1-1), who had just entered the game and on Monday recorded his first career win in his fourth appearance in the majors.
Arenado's blast, Colorado's fourth and final hit of the game, enabled the 22-year-old Senzatela to notch his first career win in his second major league start.
Senzatela (1-0) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings with one walk and five strikeouts. He got nine outs on ground balls in a very efficient 94-pitch outing that included 64 strikes. Senzatela is the first Colorado starter to pitch seven innings this season.
Adam Ottavino followed Senzatela to the mound and struck out the side in the eighth. Greg Holland earned his major-league-leading fifth save as the Rockies improved to 4-0 in one-run games. Their other two wins were by two runs.
Padres starter Jered Weaver gave up two runs and three hits in six innings with no walks and five strikeouts.
The score was tied at 2 after the teams traded runs in the sixth inning. Manuel Margot beat out a slow roller to third with one out and scampered to third on Travis Jankowski's single. Wil Myers followed with a sacrifice fly.
Charlie Blackmon quickly got that run back when he homered to center on a 1-2 slider. It was the second homer of the season for Blackmon.
Margot led off the game with a home run, his third of the season, when he connected on a 1-2 slider from Senzatela. The Rockies tied the score at 1 when Carlos Gonzalez hit his first homer in the fourth. It came off an 83 mph fastball from Weaver.
Senzatela gave up two hits through five innings. Myers tripled with one out in the fourth, but Senzatela got Yangervis Solarte and Ryan Schimpf to fly out. Myers' triple came after Senzatela retired nine straight batters.
Aside from Gonzalez's homer, the only hit Weaver allowed through the fifth was Tony Wolters' one-out double in the third. However, Weaver struck out Senzatela and got Blackmon to pop out.
NOTES: Rockies SS Cristhian Adames made his first start of the season after pinch-hitting twice in the previous eight games and went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. He replaced SS Trevor Story, who was 4-for-27 with three doubles and 12 strikeouts. Story pinch-hit and struck out in the seventh. ... Rockies RHP Jairo Diaz made his first rehab appearance Monday since he underwent Tommy John surgery on March 8, 2016. Diaz threw nine pitches, seven strikes, in one scoreless inning at high Class A Lancaster and is scheduled to again pitch one inning for that club Wednesday. ... Padres RHP Trevor Cahill (back strain) threw from up to 90 feet and had no issues...Padres 1B Wil Myers had fallen a triple shy of the cycle seven times before hitting a triple in the eighth inning Monday to complete his first cycle. Myers' triple in the fourth Tuesday gave him triples in consecutive games for the first time in his career. ... Padres C Austin Hedges went 0-for-4, extending his hitless string to start the season to 23 consecutive at-bats.