Senzatela, Rogers mending well after hamstring injuries

Perhaps the Rockies are not so hamstrung after all.

Right-handed starter Antonio Senzatela, as well as starting second baseman Brendan Rodgers, sustained strained hamstrings earlier in camp: Senzatela on March 1 and Rodgers last Saturday. Both of them are on the mend and have a chance to be ready for opening day April 1.

Senzatela is scheduled to pitch in a “B game” against the Angels on Tuesday and will throw three innings. If all goes well, he’ll pitch in a Cactus League game on Sunday.

“Tomorrow will be his first competition against another club,” manager Bud Black said. “He’s ready for that. He’s excited and his hamstring feels great. So yeah, ‘Senza’ is in a good spot.”

Rodgers, who pulled up while trying to steal second base, initially appeared to have suffered a significant hamstring strain, but Black was happy to hear from head trainer Keith Dugger that wasn’t the case.

“Keith gave me a report and said there’s no pain, there’s not a lack of strength,” Black said. “There’s no bruising like you see in a typical hamstring strain. So a lot of the signs are positive, but (there is) no timetable (for a return).”

Black on Gray. Right-hander Jon Gray didn’t have great command in his first Cactus League game on Sunday vs. the Rangers. He was scheduled to pitch four innings but got the hook after 2M frames because of a high pitch count.

Black, however, was pleased by Gray’s outing, noting that the right-hander is completely healthy after a shoulder strain that prematurely ended his 2020 season.

“I really liked the stuff … the ball was coming out really, really good,” Black said. “The velocity was up to 97 (mph). It’s not all about velocity, but that’s a good sign that Jon’s arm strength showed up yesterday. I thought he had a good, hard slider, a good curveball.”

Footnotes. Right-hander Ryan Castellani, who’s struggling with command, hasn’t pitched in a Cactus League game since walking three of the four batters he faced and hitting the other one in a game against Cincinnati on March 8. Castellani is scheduled to pitch a simulated game Tuesday as he works on his mechanics. … The Rockies are easing right-hander Scott Oberg back into action after he underwent surgery last September in hopes that the procedure will prevent blood clots from returning in his right arm. Oberg is scheduled to pitch in eight games this spring, but that’s flexible, depending on how he feels. After making his Cactus League debut on Friday, he’s slated to pitch again Tuesday night.