Antonio Senzatela blasted, Rockies hitters a no-show in 9-0 loss to Pirates

Pittsburgh is home to the “Immaculate Reception,” but there were no miracle endings for the Rockies on Friday night.

The Pirates blanked them 9-0 at PNC Park, pounding starting right-hander Antonio Senzatela, though not quite like they did on Aug. 1 at Coors Field.

In that wild game, the Rockies trailed 9-0 after the first inning, and Pittsburgh ravaged Senzatela for seven runs on eight hits and two walks in a mere two-thirds of an inning. But the Rockies rallied for a 17-16 walk-off victory.

Friday night, Senzatela wasn’t good, but hung around for four innings, giving up five runs on eight hits. He walked three and struck out four. Veteran designated hitter Andrew McCutchen hit a pair of two-run doubles off Senzatela — in the first inning and also in the second.

“The offspeed command, overall, I don’t think was good,” manager Warren Schaeffer told reporters in Pittsburgh. “When you don’t have that, you have to rely on the heater a little more. They got after the heater a little bit and they hit it hard.”

Senzatela was coming off a strong start. Coming off the injured list, he pitched five scoreless innings vs. the Diamondbacks in Colorado’s 6-5 win at Coors Field. He allowed four hits with one walk (intentional), one hit batter and two strikeouts. But after Friday night’s loss, his ERA stands at 7.15.

Keep in mind that the Rockies released veteran left-hander Austin Gomber on Friday. He had a 6.49 ERA, but he was scheduled to become a free agent at the end of this season. Senzatela, however, has one year remaining on his contract, and he’s guaranteed $12 million in 2026.

In their Aug. 1 miracle comeback vs. Pittsburgh, the Rockies had 22 hits. Friday night, Rockies hitters were a no-show. While the Pirates had 14 hits, the Rockies managed only three and were shut out for the 12th time.

There was no whiff of divine intervention, a la the 1972 AFC Divisional playoff game between the Raiders and Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium, when Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris caught a deflected pass for a touchdown in the closing seconds to lift the Steelers to a stunning 13-7 victory.

Pirates young right-hander Braxton Ashcraft dominated the Rockies for five innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out six.

“Ashcraft was really good with the fastball-slider combo,” Schaeffer said.

Pittsburgh rookie right-hander Bubba Chandler, making his big-league debut at age 22, pitched four scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out three.

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The Pirates, meanwhile, raked Rockies reliever Anthony Molina for three runs on four hits, including two homers in the sixth inning — a leadoff homer by Spencer Horwitz and a two-run blast from Tommy Pham. Molina’s ERA has ballooned to 8.31.

Saturday’s pitching matchup

Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (3-12, 5.16 ERA) at Pirates RHP Mike Burrows (1-4, 4.46)

4:40 p.m. Saturday, PNC Park

TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).

Radio: 850 AM, 94.1 FM

Trending: Entering Friday night’s game at Pittsburgh, Colorado had not struck out more than eight times through their last nine games, their longest such streak since a 10-game stretch since June 19-29, 2015. However, the Rockies struck out nine times in their 9-0 loss to the Pirates on Friday night.