Rockies' Antonio Senzatela, finding his groove as late-game shutdown reliever, closes out Diamondbacks

Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post on May 16, 2026

Published in Baseball

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DENVER — Antonio Senzatela has found his second calling.

On Saturday afternoon, with two outs and two men on, the Colorado Rockies’ veteran right-hander threw a 2-2, 92.2 mph changeup to Arizona’s Geraldo Perdomo in the ninth inning. It was a gutsy choice to end a 10-pitch battle, and when centerfielder Brenton Doyle drifted back and gathered in the ball for the game’s final out, Senzatela pumped his fist.

The erstwhile starter closed out the Rockies’ 4-2 victory over the Diamondbacks at Coors Field. Senzatela, who struggled mightily as a starter in 2025, is 3 for 3 in save chances this season and has emerged as one of the best relievers in baseball.

Veteran right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano, dealing with flu-like symptoms, pitched five solid innings (two runs on seven hits) to set the table for Colorado’s victory. It was his 150th win, combining his career in Japan and the major leagues.

For Senzatela, getting the ball late in games is something new, but something he’s starting to crave. He likes the rush that comes with it.

“If you play baseball, you like pressure,” the 31-year-old said. “There is nothing easy in this game.”

He brought up his April 24 game at Citi Field in New York when he pitched 1 2/3 innings to close out a 4-3 win over the Mets as a prime example of the adrenaline buzz that comes with the game on the line.

“Being out there with the lights and stuff, getting crazy, it was like, ‘Wow! This is new to me,” he said. “My heart rate was like (racing), and I liked it. And it was really fun today when I was heading out from the bullpen, and my song was really loud, and everybody was cheering. It reminded me of a postseason game.”

In 13 appearances this season, Senzatela is 3-0 with a 1.27 ERA, 25 strikeouts, just eight walks, and a minuscule 0.81 WHIP.

“‘Senza’ is calm, and he throws strikes, that’s what he does,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “What a battle there at the end with Perdomo. That’s good baseball.”

Before Saturday’s game, Scheaffer was asked if he was considering moving Senzatela back into the starting rotation now that right-handers Chase Dollander and Ryan Feltner are both on the injured list. Schaeffer said nothing doing.

“‘Senza’ is thriving where he is right now,” he said. “He’s one of the best relievers in the game, and that’s where he helps us win baseball games.”

Last season, opponents had a .352 batting average against Senzatela’s fastball, making it one of the most-hittable pitches in the majors. He posted a 6.65 ERA and served up a career-high 22 home runs. In 108 innings as a starter, Senzatela posted a 7.48 ERA and 1.91 WHIP before he was moved to the bullpen.

After extensive offseason work that included experimenting with different grips and a different pitch mix, Senza looks like a vastly different pitcher.

Colorado, which had lost seven of its last eight games at Coors Field heading into Saturday, desperately needed a strong performance from Sugano. Because, in May, starters were 0-9 with a 7.83 ERA.

“I was not (feeling) my best today, but once I determined (I was going to pitch), I wanted to go the distance,” Sugano said, using interpreter Yuto Sakurai.

Sugano has allowed two or fewer runs in three of his five home starts this season, posting a 4.50 ERA at Coors.

“‘Tomo’ gave us all he had to today,” Schaeffer said. “He was battling a sickness before the game and we didn’t even know if he could go. He gave us five strong to (get) the win. He gave it everything he had.”

Colorado scored all of its runs in the first two innings against Arizona lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, who entered the game 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA. Willi Castro led off the first with a single, and Brenton Doyle followed with a double. TJ Rumfield and Mickey Moniak delivered run-scoring singles to put Colorado ahead, 2-0.

Kyle Karros led off the second with a double and scored on Jake McCarthy’s single.

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