Clips for 7-12-10

MEDIA CLIPS – July 18, 2017 Rox seek 3rd straight win in Senzatela's return By Max Gelman / MLB.com | 9:36 AM ET Antonio Senzatela's demotion to Triple-A Albuquerque was short-lived, as the young right-hander will make his return for the Rockies on Tuesday to start against the Padres and Dinelson Lamet. Colorado has won back-to-back games for the first time since a six-game streak from June 14-20. Senzatela will be making his first MLB start since June 22 when he gave up nine runs in five innings to the D-backs. He made two relief appearances following that outing and was then optioned to Albuquerque for a start. He threw 3 1/3 innings for the Isotopes on July 13 and gave up one run on four hits. While in the bullpen, Senzatela's fastball velocity jumped. His fastball averaged 94 mph in June, but in relief, it averaged 95.3 mph. "I got to see the game from a different view," Senzatela said of his relief outings. "It taught me to go in, be more aggressive and finish the hitter real quick. I worked quick, and I felt good. I looked to get out there hitter in two or three pitches -- dominate." For the Padres, Lamet will make his first career start against the Rockies. The young righty has a 5.93 ERA in 41 innings. 1 It's been all or nothing for Lamet through his first eight big league starts. The rookie has a legit three-pitch mix, and all three project as Major League-caliber out pitches. He's had problems, however, locating those pitches at times. He walked four and allowed six runs over four innings in Cleveland in his last start. "It's a fastball that plays up in the zone and as good a slider as anybody's in the game," said Padres manager Andy Green. Command is his struggle. If he's got his command and is attacking aggressively, it's really good stuff." Things to know about this game • Lamet has also had much more success against right-handed batters than vs. lefties. Righties are hitting just .135 (10- for-74) off Lamet, while lefties have hit .306 (26-for-85). • Senzatela has made two starts against the Padres this season, pitching to a 2.77 ERA (four earned runs in 13 innings). The Rockies won both of those games, 3-2 on April 11 and 11-3 on May 3. • Padres catcher Austin Hedges missed his third straight start on Monday because of concussion symptoms and is unlikely to return to action Tuesday. 2 Blackmon Rox' Heart and Hustle Award winner By Manny Randhawa / MLB.com | 9:04 AM ET The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association revealed the 30 preliminary winners of the 2017 Heart and Hustle Award on Tuesday. The honor is the only one voted on by former players, and is bestowed each year upon the active player who most represents a passion for the game of baseball, and best embodies the values, spirit and tradition of the game. Past winners of the Heart and Hustle Award include David Eckstein (2005), Hall of Famer Craig Biggio (2006, 2007), Grady Sizemore (2008), Albert Pujols (2009), Roy Halladay (2010), Torii Hunter (2011), Mike Trout (2012), Dustin Pedroia(2013), Josh Harrison (2014), Anthony Rizzo (2015) and Todd Frazier (2016). The 30 preliminary winners for 2017 are: AMERICAN LEAGUE Baltimore Orioles: Adam Jones Boston Red Sox: Rick Porcello Chicago White Sox: Avisail Garcia Cleveland Indians: Jose Ramirez Detroit Tigers: Ian Kinsler Houston Astros: Josh Reddick Kansas City Royals: Eric Hosmer Los Angeles Angels: Andrelton Simmons Minnesota Twins: Byron Buxton New York Yankees: Brett Gardner Oakland Athletics: Yonder Alonso Seattle Mariners: Nelson Cruz Tampa Bay Rays: Logan Morrison Texas Rangers: Elvis Andrus Toronto Blue Jays: Kevin Pillar NATIONAL LEAGUE 3 Arizona Diamondbacks: Paul Goldschmidt Atlanta Braves: Nick Markakis Chicago Cubs: Kris Bryant Cincinnati Reds: Adam Duvall Colorado Rockies: Charlie Blackmon Los Angeles Dodgers: Justin Turner Miami Marlins: J.T. Realmuto Milwaukee Brewers: Hernan Perez New York Mets: Jay Bruce Philadelphia Phillies: Freddy Galvis Pittsburgh Pirates: Adam Frazier San Diego Padres: Clayton Richard San Francisco Giants: Brandon Crawford St. Louis Cardinals: Jedd Gyorko Washington Nationals: Anthony Rendon "This year's Heart and Hustle Award winners are a true representation of the legacy of the game and the players who have come before them," said Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson, president of the MLBPAA. "It is clear that these 30 men chosen all play the game with relentless pursuit." Voting for the 30 preliminary players took place before the All-Star break. Thirty voting committees were formed, comprised of alumni players with established relations to each team, to select the winners. Each of the winners will be recognized prior to an upcoming home game for their team, beginning with the Braves on Wednesday. Toward the end of the season, all alumni and active players will vote for a final winner from among the 30 teams. The final winner will be announced on Nov. 14, during the 18th annual Legends for Youth Dinner in New York City. The Legends for Youth Dinner is the primary fundraiser for the series of free Legends for Youth clinics that are held around the country, which have enabled more than 16,000 kids to learn from and interact with players who have left a lasting impact on the game. 4 Rockies' early charge holds up vs. Padres By AJ Cassavell and Thomas Harding / MLB.com | 2:14 AM ET DENVER -- Charlie Blackmon opened the bottom of the first with a homer off the face of the third deck and right- hander German Marquez tied a career high with nine strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings as the Rockies defeated the Padres, 9-6, Monday night at Coors Field to pull to a half-game behind the D-backs for the first National League Wild Card. Blackmon's 22nd homer of the season came off Padres starter Luis Perdomo (4-5), who yielded seven runs (five earned) on six hits and three walks in 2 1/3 innings.Trevor Story drove in three runs and Gerardo Parra added his eighth homer of the season, a solo shot in the seventh, to help the Rockies to their second straight victory -- something that hadn't happened since a six-game streak from June 14-20. "It has felt like a while," Story said. "We've been swinging it well and pitching well these last two games. We'll see what we can put together." Marquez (7-4) -- mixing his fastball and breaking pitches with the best changeup he has displayed all season -- gave up a Jabari Blash two-run homer to dead center in the second inning and a Carlos Asuaje RBI single in the seventh but otherwise shut down the Padres -- who had won their previous two games and 12 of their last 19. Marquez, a rookie, also fanned nine Padres on June 2 at Petco Park, but took an 8-5 loss. "My fastball, at first, wasn't working as well, but when I go to the third inning I had really good command of it," Marquez said. Manager Bud Black said Marquez's pitch mix, especially the ability to go offspeed when behind in the count, showed growth. "Those are the things that good pitchers do, and he'll need to do that moving forward," Black said. After Marquez left the game, the Padres went to work against the Rockies' bullpen. Hector Sanchez -- filling in for Austin Hedges again -- made it three straight games with a homer when he hit an eighth-inning leadoff shot off Jake McGee. It was only his second hit batting right-handed all season. 5 "You never put a guy in the lineup the first time in a while and expect him to homer in three straight games," said Padres manager Andy Green. "But he's got that kind of power. He's got it from both sides of the plate." The homer sparked a three-run rally that saw San Diego put the potential tying run on first base and Colorado exhaust four relievers, as Adam Ottavino, Scott Obergand Mike Dunn followed McGee. Dunn got Asuaje to fly out to center to end the threat with the Rockies holding an 8-6 lead. Closer Greg Holland put down the ninth with his Majors-leading 29th save in 30 opportunities. Holland fanned the first two hitters, yielded Jose Pirela's double, then ended it with a Matt Szczur grounder. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Quality time: The Rockies went into Monday 6-15 since June 21, and lack of quality at-bats was a chief reason. In those 21 games, according to Statcast™, the Rockies had a .221 expected batting average (xBA) -- third-lowest in the Majors and ahead of only the Padres' .208 in the NL over that time. But the Rockies' five-run third was full of at-bats that saw them swing at strikes and lay off balls. Blackmon, Mark Reynolds and Ian Desmond walked, and the big hit was Story's two-run double. The Rockies forced Perdomo to exhaust 36 pitches, though shortstop Erick Aybar's error to load the bases with no outs didn't help. "Yesterday, we had some good at-bats in New York, and we talked about it in our hitters' meeting -- about the at-bats yesterday and trying to carry that over," Black said. Execution kills Padres' chances: Reliever Craig Stammen and leadoff hitter Manuel Margot singled to open the fifth, with the Padres trailing, 7-2, and needing a rally.

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