LOS ANGELES -- An injured list that includes all five members of the season-opening rotation can serve as the easy answer to the Rockies’ struggles. But the presence of two right-handers in the current rotation -- Jeff Hoffman and Antonio Senzatela -- makes the woes harder to accept.
Senzatela went a combined 16-11 with a 4.56 ERA in 2017-18, and even started Game 1 of last year’s National League Division Series. Hoffman went 6-5 with a 5.89 ERA on the 2017 squad that went to the postseason before a rotator cuff strain suffered in Spring Training made him a non-factor last year. At the least, they entered 2019 as part of the Rockies’ depth picture.
But this year, Senzatela (8-9, 6.95 ERA), who will start Wednesday’s finale at Dodger Stadium, and Hoffman (1-5, 7.35), whose next turn is Friday at San Diego, were nowhere near good enough when injuries and/or slumps offered them opportunities. Both have the final month to regain footing for 2020.
It would have been nice for Senzatela and Hoffman to step forward. Top free-agent pitchers tend to avoid Colorado, and the Rockies believe their money is better spent on younger arms.
“We did it last year and the year before,” Senzatela said. “We can do it again.”
Senzatela’s wild inconsistency -- six starts of six or more innings and two or fewer runs, six of 4 2/3 or fewer innings and six or more runs -- is partly due to his inability to change speeds. Senzatela revealed that he had to change the grip on his changeup (his key pitch in the Minors) because the circle grip cause pain that shot from his right ring finger to the elbow. He changed to a four-seam grip, but success hasn’t come.
Senzatela yielded six runs in five innings against the Pirates last Friday, but a veteran at-bat -- Melky Cabrera’s three-run homer -- was the difference. Senzatela, 24, said the fact he could land his slider, a pitch that has come and gone, for strikes was a positive. He had six called strikes in 35 sliders, and that helped him earn eight called strikes on fastballs.
“It’s been frustrating, but it’s baseball, and some days are going to be bad,” Senzatela said. “I need to wake up, get my mind ready. Every start the rest of the year is important.”
Hoffman, 26, left his start Sunday against the Pirates – two runs on nine hits in five innings – encouraged about some corrections based on talks with bullpen coach Darren Holmes.
Hoffman has maintained his own ideas, but failure has made him open to changes. Hoffman believes a key is not leaning to the left and letting the right arm flail.
Interestingly, Hoffman has compared his career to that of White Sox righty Lucas Giolito, who struggled early in his career but found success this year.
“I’m confident that when that string does come, it’s going to be similar and we’ll be talking about potentially All-Star Game, that kind of deal,” Hoffman said.
However, Giolito found success by dramatically shortening his arm action, and it seems the Rockies’ mechanical tweaks are leading him in that direction.
“When you’re talking about changing your arm stroke, that’s a big change -- something you need to gradually get to,” he said. “Maybe this offseason will be a time where I really nail that down. We made our change maybe a month ago. The results are promising.
“What [Giolito] has done is extreme when you look at the video from last year to this year. I don’t know if I will necessarily need that big a change. Things that make me me are my athleticism and my range of motion. That’s really dangerous when you’re talking about really locking up, but it’s working for him. But that’s the type of path that we’re on. I don’t think it’ll be that drastic, but that’s the mindset.”
Notes
• The Rockies recalled corner infielder Josh Fuentes, selected the contract of veteran catcher Drew Butera from Triple-A Albuquerque and designated outfielder Noel Cuevas for assignment on Tuesday, . The Rockies also expect to activate right-handed reliever DJ Johnson on Wednesday. Johnson had been sent to Albuquerque.
• Rookie righty Peter Lambert, 22, has a 10.36 ERA in his last six starts, and he lasted 1 2/3 innings of Monday’s 16-9 loss to the Dodgers, but he will stay in the rotation and start Sunday at San Diego. Manager Bud Black believes Lambert has the confidence to take the correct lessons from the tough outings.
“Part of the strength of Peter, part of his constitution, is that toughness, and what we love about him,” Black said.