Rockies sweep struggling Blue Jays for 8th straight win
Nolan Arenado homered and singled, extending hit streak to 13 games
On the mound, at the plate and in the field, everything is working for the Colorado Rockies right now.
Playing without Charlie Blackmon due to a strained right calf, the Rockies swept their weekend set against the struggling Blue Jays to close out a 9-1 homestand, matching their best record in a 10-game run at home. They also went 9-1 from Sept. 1-10, 2009.
"Collectively, we talk about offence, pitching and defence. We did them all this home stand," manager Bud Black said.
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Arenado also singled while extending his hitting streak to 13 games, and Raimel Tapia increased his hit streak to 12 games. Chris Iannetta went deep and David Dahl added an RBI double as the Rockies continued their best stretch after a rough start early on that included an eight-game losing streak.
"Everyone is having good at-bats," Arenado said. "One of our best players is out and we're still finding ways to win. We feel like we're a good team. We dug ourselves a hole in the beginning and we're trying to find our way out of it right now and I feel like we're doing a good job of that."
Winless trip for Blue Jays
Toronto completed a winless six-game trip. It was the sixth time in team history that the Blue Jays failed to win in a road stretch of six or more games and the first since 2009, when they went 0-9 during a road swing in May.
Justin Smoak drove in a run with a fielder's choice in the first, but that was it for Toronto.
Senzatela (4-4) allowed four hits, struck out four and walked three. Chad Bettis, Mike Dunn, Jairo Diaz and Bryan Shaw worked the final three innings. Shaw struck out the side in the ninth.
Toronto right-hander Aaron Sanchez (3-6) dropped his fifth straight decision, a career high. He allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings, but kept the Blue Jays in the game in hitter-friendly Coors Field.
"He was outstanding. He gave us a chance," manager Charlie Montoyo said. "Couple of mistakes but the ball flies here. But he was good and he's healthy, that's good for us. Hopefully he'll be good again his next outing."
Despite the rough stretch the Blue Jays are going through, Sanchez said it's important to stay upbeat over the course of a long season.
"Even good teams go through patches where things aren't going very well so you just got to come to the ballpark and keep [being] upbeat and have positive vibes through the clubhouse and try to win games every night," Sanchez said.