Rockies' offense comes alive in win over Giants
DENVER -- Backed by an offense that is heating up, rookie right-hander Antonio Senzatela gave the Colorado Rockies another superb start Saturday night as they pounded the floundering San Francisco Giants 12-3.
The Rockies reached season-highs in runs and hits (14), getting home runs from Mark Reynolds, who had three hits and four RBIs, Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon. They scored three runs in the first and fourth innings before a six-run eighth.
The Rockies entered this series batting .224 but scored six runs, albeit in one inning against Johnny Cueto on two homers, in a 6-5 win Friday, and they roughed up starter Matt Moore (1-3) on Saturday. He gave up nine hits, six for extra bases, in four innings.
Senzatela (3-0) held the Giants to one run - that coming on a Joe Panik homer in the sixth -- and four hits in seven innings with no walks and three strikeouts. Senzatela got 10 outs on ground balls in the 90-pitch outing that lowered his ERA to 2.08 in four starts.
The win was the fifth in six games for the Rockies, who are 5-1 this season against the Giants. At 12-6, the Rockies have the second-best record in franchise history after 18 games. They were 13-5 twice and 12-6 three previous times.
Five losses in six games have dropped the Giants' record to 6-12, the worst in the National League. Panik's homer was just the fourth in the past 11 games for the Giants, whose 12 home runs entering the game ranked ahead of just one major-league team.
After Senzatela departed, Scott Oberg gave up a one-out walk in the eighth, and Mike Dunn gave up a two-out double to Brandon Belt, followed by Panik's single to make it 6-3.
Buster Posey grounded Carlos Estevez's first pitch up the middle for a single. Estevez's wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position for Brandon Crawford, but Estevez struck him out on a 96-mph fastball.
Aided by second baseman Panik's error, the Rockies retaliated in the eighth with six runs, five unearned. They scored on singles by Alexi Amarista (his first RBI and second hit of the season) and pinch hitter Gerardo Parra, Charlie Blackmon's sacrifice fly, Carlos Gonzalez's bases-loaded walk and a two-run single by Reynolds.
After roughing up Moore for three runs in the first, the Rockies increased their lead to 6-0 in the fourth.
Story, who hit his first career grand slam Friday, led off the inning with his fourth homer of the season. Stephen Cardullo walked and scored on a double into the left-field corner by Dustin Garneau, who had one hit in his past 26 at-bats.
Blackmon, who hit an inside-the-park homer Friday, cleared the center-field fence for his fifth homer.
Blackmon led off the Rockies' first with a triple, rifling the ball into the right-field corner. With one out, Nolan Arenado singled Blackmon home, and with two outs, Reynolds swatted his fifth homer, driving Moore's first-pitch 92 mph fastball into the left-field stands.
Making his fourth career start, Senzatela, 22, limited the Giants to two hits through five innings. The first was Belt's one-out double in the first before Senzatela got Panik to fly out and Posey to ground out.
Gorkys Hernandez led off the third with a single and was sacrificed to second. Senzatela got Conor Gillaspie to fly out and struck out Belt.
NOTES: Giants CF Denard Span left the game with a mild right shoulder sprain after he banged into the wall catching Charlie Blackmon's drive to end the second. He will undergo X-rays....Giants RF Hunter Pence did not start after bruising his left knee Friday night, but he pinch hit and walked in the eighth.... Giants SS Brandon Crawford will go on the three-day bereavement list next week to attend the funeral Thursday of his sister-in-law Jennifer Pippin, who died of an asthma attack April 12....Rockies OF David Dahl (stress reaction sixth rib), who missed most of spring training, took 30 dry swings two days after his latest CT scan showed enough bone formation....Rockies RHP Chad Qualls (right forearm tightness) resumed his rehab assignment at Triple-A Albuquerque....Rockies 1B Ian Desmond (fractured left hand) should be taking batting practice by early next week and has another X-ray scheduled Wednesday.