Rockies to start Senzatela, Anderson at Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE» One of Colorado manager Bud Black’s mostquoted baseball adages is that momentum is only as good as the next day’s starting pitcher. If that’s the case, Black has some thinking to do while settling on a rotation for the bestoffive National League division series against the Brewers that starts here Thursday.

Black has tabbed righthander Antonio Senzatela to start the series opener, with Tyler Anderson the probable starter for Friday in Game 2. Beyond that, staff aces German Marquez (last pitched Monday afternoon in the NL tiebreaker loss) and Kyle Freeland (pitched Tuesday night in the NL wild card win) would both be fully rested for Sunday’s Game 3 at Coors Field.

“More than likely, you’ll see Marquez and Freeland in some fashion (Sunday),” Black said Wednesday.

Reading the tea leaves, that could mean Black is leaving his decision for later depending on how the Rockies do in the first two games here. Should the Rockies be tied 11 or be in command up 20 coming back to LoDo, it’s fair to assume Marquez would take the mound with an extra day’s rest, leaving Freeland in reserve for a possible clinching Game 4 start.

But, should Colorado come home down 02, it’s possible that Black would hand the ball to the team’s most clutch pitcher, Freeland. The southpaw handled the October pressure cooker with sixplus innings of shutout baseball in the wild card victory in front of a raucous Wrigley Field crowd Tuesday night.

And, beyond Game 3, the question of a fourman rotation looms with the club’s NLDS roster set to be unveiled Thursday morning.

Obviously, whomever doesn’t pitch between Marquez and Freeland on Sunday will start Monday’s Game 4, if needed. Should the series be extended back to Milwaukee for Game 5 on Wednesday, Colorado would then have both Senzatela and Anderson available.

That means opening day starter Jon Gray, who has lasted four innings or less in four of his last five starts, is likely to be left off the NLDS roster in order to make room for another position player or reliever. The Rockies are set to face the Brewers in Game 1 of the NLDS on Thursday, with Antonio Senzatela to start for Colorado. Here are five things to know about the righthander.

Rockies’ RHP Antonio Senzatela (66, 4.38 ERA)

1. Behind Kyle Freeland and German Marquez, Senzatela has become arguably the club’s thirdmost dependable starter in the second half of the season. He threw fourplus innings of onerun ball in a victory against the Phillies last Thursday.

2. The Valencia, Venezuela, native made his major league debut at Miller Park on April 6 a year ago, tossing five shutout innings in a Colorado victory and allowing just four hits.

3. Senzatela has been with the team since 2012, when he made his professional debut with the Dominican Summer League Rockies. He had a teamleading 0.72 ERA in a dozen starts. He spent more than five years climbing the minor league ladder before making his MLB debut.

4. The righthander relies on four pitches: a fourseam fastball (63.9 percent of the time), a slider (18.9), a changeup (8.8) and a curveball (8.4). The 23yearold’s raw, effective stuff puts him in the conversation of eventually being a staff ace.

5. In his second year in the league, Senzatela’s accelerations up the MLB starting pitching growth curve can be seen in the sabermetrics. Per Statcast, his zone contact percentage and meatball pitch percentage are down, while his chase percentage and whiff percentage are both up. Meanwhile, for Milwaukee… — The Brewers have yet to announce a starter, and manager Craig Counsell said it’s going to be a “bullpen” day. That plays to a Milwaukee strength, as its ’pen was second in the NL in ERA (3.47) and features allstars in southpaw Josh Hader and righthander Jeremy Jeffress.