Rockies 2, Rays 1: Doyle’s bat + glove = W

Great defense and timely pitching helped the Rockies secure their first dub of the season

The Colorado Rockies earned their first win of the 2025 season with a tight victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday afternoon. Though the Rays threatened throughout, it turns out that great defense, solid pitching, and just-enough offense was the recipe for a Rox W.

Senza’s start

Antonio Senzatela’s first start of the season was an interesting one. He had plenty of traffic — nine hits and two walks allowed in just 4 ¹⁄₃ innings — but managed to work around it and kept the Rays off the scoreboard. At times laboring through his 78 pitches, “Senza” left with two on and one out in the bottom of the fifth inning. Impressive young left-hander Luis Peralta then entered and managed to escape a bases-loaded jam to end Tampa Bay’s threat.

He’ll certainly attempt to limit the contact allowed in his next start, but Senzatela will take his 0.00 ERA in the meantime.

Rockies strike first

For the second game in a row, the Rockies were able to take an early advantage. That happened in the top of the third inning, when Nick Martini hit a leadoff single and moved to second on Jordan Beck’s subsequent knock. He then came home on Brenton Doyle’s base hit, his first of the season, to give Colorado a 1-0 lead.

It was a hot start for the Rox, but that would be all they’d get until much later on in the contest, when Kyle Farmer’s RBI single doubled the Rockies lead to 2-zip.

Defense wins championships… or at least games

The Coors Shield may be gone, but Colorado’s defense still serves as effective support for their pitching staff.

They proved that multiple times throughout Saturday’s contest, such as in the bottom of the first inning when Junior Caminero, racing home on Jonathan Aranda’s double, was cut down at the plate on a strike from Gold Glover Ezequiel Tovar that kept the game scoreless.

Tovar’s brilliance didn’t end there, as he also stole a hit from from Taylor Walls in the bottom of the second inning. He’s off to a great start in his quest to win another Gold Glove in 2025.

So, too, is Brenton Doyle. His diving catch on a Yandy Díaz liner in the bottom of the fifth was spectacular, but just par for the course for one of the best defensive outfielders in the game.

As if that wasn’t enough, Colorado’s fielders cut another run down at the plate when Nick Martini’s throw from right field gunned down Aranda in the third frame. Talk about defensive excellence!

Bullpen locks in

Friday’s loss was a tough one, but the Rockies relief corps was able to lock in when it mattered most to preserve their victory of Saturday.

After Senzatela’s somewhat early exit in the fifth inning, Peralta’s tightrope act kept Colorado in front. Jimmy Herget and Scott Alexander then recorded consecutive scoreless frames before a tough Angel Chivilli outing that saw him cede a run in the eighth. Luckily, Seth Halvorsen stopped the bleeding there, ending the eighth without yielding another run before pitching an easy 1-2-3 ninth.

Halvorsen’s first save of the year bookended a solid team victory for your fightin’ Rockies.

Coming Up Next

The Rockies and Rays will finish up their season-opening series with a third and final contest on Sunday morning. That game will feature the season debut of Ryan Feltner, who has high expectations as this campaign begins.

Find out of he’s able to live up to them when the contest kicks off at 11:40am MDT.