Rox bats show signs of life, but skid hits 6

NEW YORK -- Yes, the Rockies lost another tough game to the Yankees, 11-5, on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium to extend their losing streak to six, but Colorado showed signs of life on offense.

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On Friday, manager Bud Black said the Rockies had a bad day because the offense and pitching staff were in terrible slumps.

But things started to change in Saturday’s five-run sixth inning against right-hander Mashahiro Tanaka. The Yankees were ahead, 9-0, when the Rockies scored their first run on an RBI double by Trevor Story.

Two batters later, the Rockies made it a game, when Nolan Arenado hit a three-run homer. Daniel Murphy followed with a double, and Ian Desmond drove him home with an RBI single. Although they didn’t score another run, the Rockies went 2-for-2 with runners in scoring position for the game.

“[The sixth inning] got us within slam range at 9-5 in the middle of the game. ... That was good to see. Hopefully it becomes a carryover,” Black said.

Arenado, who left the game because of leg cramps in the eighth inning, has struggled of late. In his last 25 games, he is 20-for-86 (.233) with four home runs and 14 RBIs.

“Right now, I’m a little uncomfortable [at the plate]. It’s been a grind. I hit some balls hard the last week-and-a-half and had nothing to show for it,” Arenado said. "It was just nice to see it go out, drive in some runs.”

Senzatela had no excuses for bad outing

Rockies right-hander Antonio Senzatela had one of his worst outings of the season in Saturday's loss to the Yankees.

Senzatela lasted 1 1/3 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits. He even made a throwing error in the five-run second that proved costly.

“The pitchers had a tough go of it in the second inning. Senzatela threw one away and a few innings later, Chad Bettis threw one away," Black said. "We are not playing the defense we are accustomed to."

One wonders if the heat played a role for Senzatela to be ineffective on the mound. The gametime temperature was 94 degrees, but Senzatela had no excuses. The last time Senzatela had a quality start was June 23 against the Dodgers, when he allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings.

“I had too many hitters in bad counts,” Senzatela said. “You try to make quality pitches, get out of the jams. I’m mostly frustrating myself, not being able to have a quality start.”

Black said the Rockies issued too many walks (five) to the Yankees.

"When the Yankees got some hits, the ball was elevated," Black said. "[The double] to [Aaron] Judge in the first inning, the ball was up. DJ [LeMahieu] found a hit in the first inning of the game. It’s part of baseball."