Sweepless in Seattle: Rockies’ 5-game winning streak ends
MARINERS 6, ROCKIES 4
SEATTLE» Sweeps and streaks die on Sunday afternoons for the 2018 Rockies.
They arrived at Safeco Field riding a five-game winning streak and savoring a chance to sweep the Mariners. But those plans were trashed due to an off day by starting pitcher Antonio Senzatela and the hot bat of Seattle first baseman Ryon Healy.
Final score: Mariners 6, Rockies 4. Sweepless in Seattle, as Colorado lost for the sixth consecutive time on Sundays and fell to 3-11 on that day for the season.
The Mariners, second in the American League West behind the Houston Astros, earned their 25th comeback win of the season and improved to 38-14 (.713) in games decided by one or two runs, the best such winning percentage in the majors.
“We played well all series,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “We fought back from a couple of deficits today and took the lead. Overall, we played well, and we’ve played well for a couple of weeks now. So we’ve got to continue that.”
Colorado hit three home runs — a solo shot by Charlie Blackmon in the first, a solo blast by Carlos Gonzalez to lead off the fifth and a two-run bomb by Trevor Story in the sixth to give the Rockies a short-lived 4-3 lead — but that wasn’t enough. All told, the Rockies had just five hits.
Seattle slew the Rockies when Healy crushed a three-run homer off Senzatela’s hanging slider in the bottom of the sixth. Healy finished the game with five RBIs.
Senzatela’s rough start ended an impressive streak by Colorado starters. They had allowed two or fewer runs over their past eight starts, trying a franchise record. The starters were 6-0 with a 1.21 ERA over that span.
“I was rushing a little bit with my delivery,” Senzatela said. “That’s really what it was. I can’t pinpoint anything else.”
Senzatela’s afternoon got off to a rocky start, and it ended the
same way. In the Mariners’ threerun first inning, they sent eight men to the plate as Senzatela walked two and plunked Mitch Haniger. Kyle Seager’s sacrifice fly scored Dee Gordon, and Healy’s tworun double drove in Haniger and Nelson Cruz.
Senzatela walked three batters in his six innings, an indication he was not sharp.
“You want to minimize the walks, and I wasn’t planning to walk anybody, it just happened,” he said. “But I paid the price for it today.”
Senzatela settled down after that and blanked Seattle for the next four innings, giving up just one hit — a leadoff triple to Denard Span in the fourth. But the sixth inning doomed Senzatela. Cruz drew a leadoff walk, Seager followed with a single and then Healy launched his 18th home run of the season.
“Antonio was out of sorts, and it looked like his delivery was off, early,” Black said. “He was cutting off some pitches and sort of yanking some fastballs away from righties and into lefties. He just didn’t make that transition from the mound to the bullpen in the first inning. Then he reeled it in for the next four innings and was outstanding until the sixth inning.”
Story, selected to his first AllStar Game on Sunday, is batting .343 since June 1 and recorded his 28th multihit game of the season.