Colorado Rockies game no. 35 thread: Alex Wood vs. Antonio Senzatela

The Coors Field-dominant Senzatela looks to turn the Rockies struggles around

Five days ago, the San Francisco Giants capped off a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies. From there, the Giants went 1-2 in St. Louis while the Rockies hosted the Royals, matching a 1-2 record.

Both have arrived on the same field again, this time in Colorado instead of California. San Francisco has now won six of their last eight, however, while the Rockies have won just two of their last nine.

Looking to end the Colorado skid is the right-handed Antonio Senzatela, although his last start — against the same Giants — saw him fail to complete four innings. Senzatela recorded just 11 outs, allowing five earned runs on seven hits and two walks.

His ERA jumped from a 3.75 to a 4.88 in that time, but 10 of his 15 earned runs on the year have also come on the road. He’s made only two starts on the road this year (four at home), and a 2.37 ERA at Coors Field suggests he’s more equipped for Denver elevation than most.

Left-handed Alex Wood got big against the Rockies in his last start, spacing seven hits in 5 ¹⁄₃ innings and allowing just one unearned run. It set up an inevitable 9-2 victory for his team, but seven hits in that span could have gone much different if the Rockies were able to string them together.

Wood made two starts at Coors Field last year, allowing a combined four earned runs over nine innings.

He works with a primary sinker, a low-spin offering with good potential for ground balls. He’s even started throwing that sinker more than his curveball with two strikes. This could play well at keeping the ball out of elevated air, but a 4.70 ERA over his last three starts could also jump higher if Colorado bats take advantage of the home ballpark.

Colorado enters the series with a relatively taxed bullpen: Tyler Kinley pitched on both Saturday and Sunday, while closer Daniel Bard threw 26 pitches in a Sunday blown save. Alex Colomé and Carlos Estévez could be tasked with anchoring the Monday series opener, although Estévez threw an uncharacteristic 36 pitches on Friday and could be down an extra day.

The NL West standings currently feature the Rockies at the bottom, but a .500 record is a long way from abysmal. Three games separate the Giants and Rockies, and the deficit could change drastically over the next three days.

First Pitch: 6:40 p.m. MDT

TV: AT&T Sports Net Rocky Mountain (COL), NBC Sports Bay Area (SF); MLB.tv

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

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