For one shining moment, the Rockies looked like they could compete with the mighty Mets. Then reality set in, and the Rockies’ season of ill repute continued.
The Mets rolled, 8-2, on Saturday afternoon at Citi Field, sending the Rockies to their seventh straight loss and clinching the three-game series for New York (36-22).
The Rockies now own a 9-49 record, putting them on pace to finish the season 25-137, which would obliterate the White Sox’s 121-loss 2024 season, the worst in baseball’s modern era.
One more historical tidbit: The Rockies have lost all 19 of their series this season and 22 straight series dating back to September of last season. That’s the longest series losing streak in major league history.
But manager Warren Schaeffer continues to preach positivity. Asked by reporters in New York what he would say to Rockies fans who want to see progress, Schaeffer replied, “I say, ‘Stick with us.’ I think you are seeing progress if you are watching the games closely. Today was not our best game, admittedly. But we have been playing good baseball for the past, I don’t know, 10 days. We just haven’t had the Ws.”
Especially not on the road, where Colorado slid to 3-27, the worst start on the road in franchise history and the first major league team since 1901 to lose 27 of their first 30 road games of the season.
Now, back to that very brief, shining moment.
With one out in the first inning, Colorado shortstop Ezequiel Tovar hit right-hander Kodai Senga’s 3-2 forkball for a solo home run to left field. But then Senga took command and retired 17 Colorado batters in a row. All told, the Rockies had just three hits.
Senga pitched 6 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on two hits. He struck out seven and walked two. His ERA is a sterling 1.60.
“We didn’t get the job done today,” Schaeffer said. “We didn’t get it done against Senga, early. The forkball got us.”
Meanwhile, the Mets took batting practice off struggling right-hander Antonio Senzatela, beating him up for seven runs on eight hits in four innings. Included in the onslaught were back-to-back homers by Brandon Nimmo (a two-run blast) and Juan Soto in the Mets’ three-run fourth inning. Soto entered the series in an 0-for-17 slump, but he broke out of the drought with an RBI double in the Mets’ win over Colorado on Friday night.
Senzatela, 1-10 in 12 starts this season, has a 7.14 ERA, and opponents are hitting .377 against him. Nine times in four innings, New York batters hit a ball at 100 mph or more.
Asked if Senzatela paid the price for leaving the ball over the plate, Schaeffer said: “I think so. The fastball got hit — elevated and over the middle. Overall, he got behind in counts early in that long first inning. He had two quick outs in the fourth, and then it happened pretty quick and they got three runs.”
Given Colorado’s offensive woes on the road, the Mets essentially won the game in that long first inning. They loaded the bases on Francisco Lindor’s leadoff single, a single by Nimmo and a walk by Soto. Senzatela struck out Pete Alonso, but Brett Baty lined a three-run triple off the wall in left-center. Tyrone Taylor’s single scored Baty to make it 4-1.
Senzatela has allowed four or more earned runs in seven consecutive starts, the longest such streak for a Rockie since Senzatela’s own streak, from July 5 to Sept. 4, 2019. Schaeffer, however, still backs the right-hander.
“His last few starts have been OK, have been all right,” Schaeffer said. “But this one — just a blip on the radar. I’m confident in ‘Senza.’ ”
The Rockies have been swept nine times this season, and will try to avoid their 10th sweep on Sunday afternoon.
Sunday’s pitching matchup
Rockies LHP Carson Palmquist (0-3, 8.78 ERA) at Mets RHP Clay Holmes (5-3, 2.98)
11:40 a.m. Sunday, Citi Field
TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).
Radio: 850 AM, 94.1 FM
Trending: The Rockies’ road? Woeful. They have been outscored 154-70 away from Coors Field, with all three of their road wins coming by two or fewer runs. They have scored at least four runs in just five of their 30 road games. They are slashing .191/.254/.301, ranking 30th in average, on-base percentage and slugging.
Pitching probables
Monday: Rockies RHP German Marquez (1-7, 7.13) at Marlins RHP Max Meyer (3-4, 4.53), 4:40 p.m.
Tuesday: Rockies RHP Tanner Gordon (1-2, 4.24) at Marlins RHP Sandy Alcantara (2-7, 8.47), 4:40 p.m.
— Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
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