NEW YORK -- Right-hander Michael Lorenzen made his fifth career start against the Mets -- for his fifth different team -- on Friday night at Citi Field.
After facing New York as a member of the Reds, Angels, Tigers and Rangers, Lorenzen was in a Rockies uniform and had his best game of the season as Colorado won, 4-3.
“I’ve been around the block, I guess,” Lorenzen said. “I’ve been on quite a few teams. It’s always fun throwing against a team like the Mets. It’s a New York team. They have a lot of pressure on them, and the fans are always good.”
Entering the game, Lorenzen had a 7.48 ERA, but one couldn’t tell that he had been having problems on the mound. He became the first Rockies starter this season to throw seven innings, while allowing just one run on seven hits.
The only time Lorenzen was in trouble was in the second inning. The Mets had runners on first and third with no outs, but the right-hander induced Marcus Semien to hit into a double play. Brett Baty scored the first run of the game, but Lorenzen escaped the frame with no further damage.
The length Lorenzen gave Colorado was needed because the bullpen, as Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer put it, “was in shambles.” The relievers were overworked and the team hasn’t had a day off since April 13. Their next day off is Monday.
“That was huge. Mick picked up the boys tonight,” Schaeffer said. “[The bullpen] was light, for sure. That’s how a teammate steps up for his team. It was big. It was huge for us.”
Lorenzen went deep, he said, because he made adjustments physically and mechanically.
“I was around the plate a lot more with all my stuff,” he pointed out. “I think the fastball is playing a little better, so I’m able to use it a little more. It’s made everything else play up a bit. So I’m able to be a little more aggressive in the zone. I don’t feel I have to be perfect.”
The Rockies had taken a 4-1 lead by the seventh inning. It started in the fifth inning against right-hander Freddy Peralta. With the bases loaded and one out, TJ Rumfield grounded out to Peralta and Brenton Doyle ended up scoring the tying run.
An inning later, Kyle Karros came home on a double by Jake McCarthy, while Hunter Goodman and Rumfield touched home plate in the seventh inning on a single by Troy Johnston. In his last seven games, Johnston is 11-for-27 (.407) to raise his overall season batting average to .317, which is tied for seventh in the NL.
“Troy has been great for us. He is such a goofball. He keeps everybody light. He is the epitome of a team player and he has been playing really well,” Schaeffer said.
The Mets made it a close game against reliever Jaden Hill in the bottom of the eighth when Ronny Mauricio and Bo Bichette came home on a single by Baty. But right-hander Antonio Senzatela, a starter during the previous nine years, was able to record the final five outs and picked up his second save of the season. The biggest out from Senzatela was getting Mark Vientos to line into a double play to end the threat in the eighth. It sucked the momentum the Mets had built right out of the stadium.
“Senz is proving he can pitch in any role, whether it’s a three-inning length role or late in the game. He can clean up and close the game down,” Schaeffer said. "He is as cool as a cucumber.”
The Rockies improved their record to 11-16. A year ago, Colorado didn’t pick up its 11th victory until June 3 against the Marlins. There is a different vibe in the Rockies’ locker room this year. They did just beat the Mets, who have been struggling mightily of late. But throughout the season, Colorado’s energy is better on the field and in the clubhouse.
“Any time you are winning more games than last year, there is going to be better energy,” Schaeffer said. “It’s a different group. It’s a whole different room, different people and they are taking well to each other. They are playing well right now.”