Rockies improve to 5-1 on road trip behind Antonio Senzatela, bullpen

On a rainy nighttime successful Georgia, the Rockies’ roadworthy resurgence continued.

They bushed the Braves, 3-2, successful 10 innings connected Wednesday astatine Truist Park to amended to 5-1 connected the existent roadworthy trip.

Ramiel Tapia’s azygous up the mediate drove successful Colton Welker with the winning run. Under the extra-innings rule, Welker began the 10th astatine 2nd base. He precocious to 3rd connected Dom Nunez’s groundout to second.

But this triumph truly belonged to a quintet of Rockies pitchers: Starter Senzatela and relievers Lucas Gilbreath, Tyler Kinley, Carlos Estevez and Robert Stephenson.

“It was decidedly tough,” Kinley said of a crippled that was played successful a dependable rainfall from archetypal transportation to last. “But we kept telling ourselves — aboriginal successful the crippled erstwhile we saw that the conditions weren’t going to beryllium letting up astatine each — that some sides person to woody with it. There is not going to beryllium immoderate stat enactment that is going to say, ‘Oh, it was bedewed out, the shot was slippery oregon it was raining for six hours.’

“So we were conscionable like, ‘You cognize what? We person to fig this out. And if it’s connected the go, it’s connected the spell and we request to fig retired a mode to get done it.’ Fortunately tonight, we were capable to enactment up immoderate zeroes and assistance america triumph the game.”

Stephenson struck retired 2 successful the bottommost of the 10th and got Dansby Swanson to popular retired to Charlie Blackmon successful shallow close to decorativeness disconnected the soggy matter that took 4 hours and 16 minutes to complete.

“Every azygous feline that went retired determination contiguous battled and pitched their butt off,” said Stephenson, who got his archetypal prevention of the play and reduced his ERA to 3.66. “I wanted to spell retired determination and bash the aforesaid happening that everybody other did.”

Senzatela delivered different fantabulous performance. In fact, it was his seventh prime commencement successful a row, the longest streak by a Rockies pitcher since Kyle Freeland and German Marquez some made 12 consecutive prime starts successful 2018.

Senzatela pitched six innings and apt would person stuck astir longer but that the people was tied 2-2 erstwhile his spot came up successful the batting bid successful the seventh.

Senzatela gave up 2 runs connected 7 hits, struck retired 7 and didn’t locomotion any. Of his 88 pitches, 67 were thrown for strikes. The right-hander has pitched astatine slightest six innings successful 12 of his past 14 starts, going 2-4 with a 3.57 ERA. In 4 vocation games against Atlanta, helium is 2-0 with a 3.51 ERA.

“The bullpen did great, but don’t hide astir Senzatela,” manager Bud Black said. “I thought ‘Senza’ had a bully fastball tonight. He’s a feline who has large condemnation successful his fastball, which I love. He pitched precise good and made immoderate large pitches erstwhile helium needed to. … He was outstanding connected the roadworthy against a bully team.”

But marque nary mistake, Colorado’s bullpen carried the torch for Senzatela. In the seventh, struggling right-hander Daniel Bard walked 2 and lefty Lucas Gilbreath came connected and jammed the bases erstwhile helium walked Ozzie Albies. But Gilbreath quashed the rally by getting Jorge Soler to popular retired to 2nd baseman Brendan Rodgers.

Gilbreath, the rookie lefty from Legacy High School, has pitched 15 consecutive outings without allowing a run. His scoreless streak of 14 1/3 innings is presently the fourth-longest successful the National League.

In the eighth, Kinley gave up singles to Freddie Freeman and Adam Duvall but fanned Travis d’Arnaud and Swanson to support the crippled tied astatine 2-all.

In the ninth, the Braves had Albies astatine 2nd basal arsenic the winning tally and 2020 National League MVP Freddie Freeman astatine the plate. Freeman tagged a first-pitch fastball from person Estevez but Garrett Hampson ran the shot down successful heavy halfway tract for the 3rd out.

The Braves nicked Senzatela for a tally successful the second, piecing unneurotic singles by Austin Riley, Swanson and Eddie Rosario, who drove the game’s archetypal run.

Colorado took a 2-1 pb successful the 5th disconnected Huascar Ynoa, sending 9 hitters to the plate. The rally began with back-to-back singles by Sam Hilliard and Colton Welker and Senzatela’s sacrifice bunt people Hilliard. Charlie Blackmon worked a bases-loaded locomotion disconnected of Ynoa to bring location the 2nd run.

Rosario rapidly tied up the crippled successful the bottommost of the framework with a leadoff homer to right. He teed of connected Senzatela’s 0-2 slider.

The Rockies volition effort to expanse the three-game bid from the Braves connected Thursday afternoon.