Antonio Senzatela worked his way out of jams to a historic degree in his first few starts of the year, but he hasn't been getting nearly as lucky as of late.
The Colorado Rockies veteran gave up a two-run home run and a bases-loaded walk just in his first inning against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday. By the end of his outing, he had allowed eight hits, four walks and six earned runs in 4.2 innings of work.
Senzatela dropped to 1-7 on the season when the Rockies lost 8-3, taking hold of the MLB lead in both losses and hits allowed. Through nine starts, he owns a 6.39 ERA, 1.992 WHIP, 4.5 strikeouts per nine innings and a -0.5 WAR.
According to Underdog Fantasy's Justin Havens, Senzatela is the first pitcher to allow at least 74 hits with fewer than 25 strikeouts over a nine-start span since Aaron Harang did so in 2015. He is the first to achieve the odd feat to open a season since Carlos Silva had similarly slow start in 2006.
Antonio Senzatela is the first pitcher to allow at least 74 hits with fewer than 25 strikeouts over a 9-start span since Aaron Harang in 2015. He's the first to do so to start a season since Carlos Silva in 2006.
— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) May 15, 2025
Senzatela averaged 28 appearances a year between 2017 and 2021, not including when he made all 12 of his scheduled starts during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign. He went 36-35 with a 4.84 ERA, 1.408 WHIP, 103 ERA+ and 7.0 WAR in that span before tearing his left ACL in 2022 and undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023.
Between Aug. 18, 2022, and March 28, 2025, Senzatela made just five starts in the big leagues. The 30-year-old has far exceeded that mark in just over a month this season, even if the production hasn't been pretty.
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