Colorado Rockies game no. 77 thread: Merrill Kelly vs Antonio Senzatela

After a day off, the Rockies try to start July on the right foot

The Rockies took a much-needed day off yesterday after finishing up their series with the Dodgers, and will now try to get back to their winning ways as they kick off July with a three-game series against the division rival Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Diamondbacks rotation has been a godsend this season, and Merrill Kelly (6-5, 3.64 ERA) has been a chief part of it. Pitching to an incredible 1.27 ERA in April before regressing to a 6.31 ERA in May and evening out to a 3.60 ERA in June, Kelly has had an up-and-down season thus far but has remained a constant in Arizona’s rotation. Kelly has faced the Rockies once this season back on May 6th, and threw arguably his finest start of the year – 8 ²⁄₃ innings one seven-hit, one-run ball in a 4-1 Snakes victory. That game was in the desert – maybe a game at Coors, where Kelly owns a career 8.15 ERA in three games, will disrupt his effectiveness.

Making the first start of the month for the Rockies is Antonio Senzatela (3-4, 4.66 ERA), who is coming off a bit of a clunker in his last start. He allowed four runs on eight hits in his five innings of work against the Twins in a 6-0 loss last Saturday. “Senza” has struggled mightily against Arizona in his career, owning a 3-8 record and an ERA of 5.89 in his 14 career appearances. His last appearance versus the Diamondbacks saw him roughed up for six runs in just ²⁄₃ of an inning in October of last season. He’ll do his best to avoid a similar fate on Friday.

Charlie Blackmon celebrates his 36th birthday today, and will do his best to cap the day off with a win. “Chuck Nazty” owns a .400 career batting average against Kelly, but has never homered against him. Speaking of homers, Blackmon has only gone long on his birthday once, and that was his very first career home run. Might he have a birthday surprise in store this evening?

First Pitch: 6:10 p.m. MDT

TV: AT&T Sports Net Rocky Mountain; MLB.tv

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

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