HEADLINE

Diamondbacks look to continue Rockies’ road woes

Field Level Media

April 29, 2021 at 11:19 am.

Winning on the road has been a chore for the Colorado Rockies this season.

Colorado has dropped eight of its first nine road contests and aims to begin a reversal on Thursday when it opens a four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix.

The Rockies dropped their first seven away games until posting a 7-5, 10-inning victory over the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday.

But the Rockies returned to their losing ways the next night, as Colorado didn’t record its first hit until there were two outs in the sixth inning while succumbing 7-3 to the Giants.

Though the Rockies are just 9-15, right-handed reliever Mychal Givens said it is too soon to panic.

“All of our games have been really close, and you see a lot of good things that have been going on,” Givens told reporters. “Everybody wants to talk about the negativity of the situation and our record. But it’s still early and we’re still able to change everything around and go out there and compete like we’ve been doing the last few series.”

The Diamondbacks have won seven of their past nine games but were routed 12-3 by the visiting San Diego Padres on Wednesday.

Arizona had won its previous three games by a cumulative 17-1 margin, a stretch that included left-hander Madison Bumgarner allowing no hits during a seven-inning victory over the Atlanta Braves.

The Diamondbacks’ offense suffered another blow when veteran outfielder Kole Calhoun (hamstring) was placed on the 10-day injured list prior to Wednesday’s game.

Calhoun joined fellow outfielders Ketel Marte (hamstring) and Tim Locastro (dislocated finger) and first baseman Christian Walker (oblique) on the IL.

Calhoun was hurt while stealing third base in Tuesday’s game. An MRI exam on Wednesday detected a strain.

It has been a rough start for Calhoun, who underwent right knee surgery on March 3 and returned to action on April 9. He is batting .292 with two home runs and five RBIs in 13 games.

“We just need to let him recuperate, get off his feet,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said of Calhoun. “… He felt a lot better waking up (Wednesday) than he thought he would. But we don’t have a timetable yet.”

The Diamondbacks will start Luke Weaver in the opener. Fellow right-hander Antonio Senzatela will start for the Rockies.

Weaver (1-2, 4.57 ERA) started against the Diamondbacks in Colorado on April 6 and gave up three runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings in a no-decision. He served up two solo homers to Ryan McMahon (who hit three total in the game) and one to Dom Nunez.

Overall, Weaver is 1-2 with a 6.84 ERA in seven career appearances (six starts) against Colorado. McMahon is 3-for-9 with three homers and five RBIs against the 27-year-old.

Weaver lost his last two starts, giving up eight runs and 14 hits over nine innings.

Senzatela (1-3, 5.76) dominated Arizona in his lone victory. He gave up four hits and two walks and struck out three in eight innings of an 8-0 win on April 7.

The 26-year-old is 3-6 with a 5.43 ERA in 14 career appearances (10 starts) against the Diamondbacks. He has struggled with Nick Ahmed (9-for-21, five RBIs) while shutting down David Peralta (3-for-22, one homer).

Senzatela is winless in three outings since beating Arizona. He gave up four runs and five hits in five innings against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, receiving a no-decision.

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