Colorado Rockies: 3 things we loved during Tuesday’s win over Cleveland

From the Colorado Rockies perspective, there was plenty to love about Tuesday night’s 11-3 win over the Cleveland Indians at Coors Field. The win improved the Rockies to 37-23 on the season and kept them at the top of the National League West standings.

On a beautiful night at Coors Field in front of 39,508 fans, here are three things that stood out to us…

Senzatela’s sweet swing

Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela earned his first Major League double when he slapped the first pitch he saw from Cleveland starter Mike Clevinger into right-center field. That in itself is cool, but the fact the bases were loaded made it one of the biggest moments of the game’s early stages.

Senzatela’s three-run double wasn’t just historic in a personal sense for the 22-year-old right-hander. It also put him in some rare Colorado company.

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According to ELIAS, Senzatela’s three-run double was the third three-run double for a pitcher in Rockies history. Who were the other two pitchers? Willie Blair (June 19, 1993 at San Diego) and Jorge De La Rosa (April 20, 2010 at Washington).

His pitching wasn’t too shabby either. Senzatela was in complete command throughout his first six innings of work. His only walk (a leadoff pass drawn by Carlos Santana to open the second inning) was wiped out by a subsequent double play ball off the bat of Jose Ramirez. His only run allowed (a fifth-inning homer by Lonnie Chisenhall) through the game’s first six innings was followed up by setting down the next five batters before running out of steam in the seventh (allowing three consecutive hits including a Bradley Zimmer home run).

With an ERA of 3.56 and 8-2 record, Senzatela should absolutely be in the discussion for National League Rookie of the Year.

Carlos Gonzalez turns into CarGONE again

Gonzalez absolutely crushed an 0-1 pitch over the Bridich Barrier and into the dugout in the third inning. It was his fifth homer of the season and gave the Rockies a 5-0 lead.

Want to see a pretty cool stat about that homer and what it could mean for the rest of the season? Check this out.

By the way, CarGo finished 2-for-2 with two walks and scored four times on Tuesday. He has now raised his average to .241.

Mark Reynolds keeps being #ASGworthy

Forget that he’s not on the All-Star ballot. Forget that it really doesn’t bother him that much (as he told us in this article). Forget all of that, but don’t forget that Reynolds is playing at an All-Star level this season.

Reynolds launched his 15^th homer of the season deep into the right field seats in the fifth inning, pushing the Rockies to an 8-1 advantage. It also gave him the team lead in homers and RBI.

What could he do for an encore? How about hitting his 16th homer in the seventh inning? Reynolds blasted a 2-2 pitch 455 feet into the left-center field seats. The blast gave him a career-high-tying five RBI on the night. The last time he turned the feat? In 2013 when he was a member of the Indians.

Not too bad for a guy who the Rockies signed to a minor league contract before the season, huh?

Next: Injury updates from Tuesday on 3 key Colorado players

But before you think all he is doing in smashing the ball at the plate, take a look at this fine piece of fielding. Reynolds set the tone for the evening by making this play against the game’s first hitter, Jason Kipnis.

Feel free to write him on your All-Star ballot, folks. He’s well worth it.