DENVER - Rookie Antonio Senzatela praised his defense. Manager Bud Black applauded his pitcher.
Charlie Blackmon went ahead and lauded everything.
Senzatela threw eight sharp innings to grab a share of the major league lead in wins, Blackmon had a homer and run-scoring single as part of an eight-run eighth and the Colorado Rockies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-0 on Friday night.
"We're doing a little bit of everything and it's adding up to some competitive baseball," said Blackmon, whose team has the best record in the NL (32-18).
Fresh off a 7-3 road swing, the Rockies kept right on rolling behind Senzatela, who joins Clayton Kershaw, Dallas Keuchel and Ervin Santana with seven victories this season.
Senzatela (7-1) scattered five hits and showed plenty of poise as the 22-year-old escaped trouble courtesy of four double plays.
"He threw strikes with the fastball where I think in the previous couple (starts), the fastball was just a little bit off the plate," Black said. "Today, he dialed it in."
Carlos Martinez (3-4) took the loss despite a quality start in which he allowed three runs in 7 1/3 innings while striking out nine.
"I felt extremely good. I tried to stay positive and keep the game low on runs," Martinez said through a translator.
The Rockies turned a 2-0 game into a rout with eight runs on nine hits in the eighth. Blackmon had a chance to finish off the cycle in his second at-bat of the inning, needing only a double. He hit a sharp single to center, with the crowd urging him to stretch it. He took a wide turn and retreated back to first.
"You have to have some respect for the game," Blackmon explained. "That to me is not a situation where you try to stretch something into a double, just for the sake of getting a double."
Mark Reynolds had a big game against his former team with an RBI single and a two-run homer.
The defense came up big behind Senzatela with left fielder Ian Desmond making a diving catch in the seventh. Nolan Arenado made a quick-reacting play at third in the eighth to rob Yadier Molina of a hit.
Senzatela was certainly impressed with the leather.
"That's really big, because they make good plays and I feel like, 'OK, they got me. I need to throw a good game for them,'" Senzatela said.
Senzatela finished with 15 groundball outs. None was bigger than in the sixth with a runner on third and two outs. Dexter Fowler hit a roller to Reynolds, who flipped the ball to Senzatela covering first to get the speedy Fowler.
"They made plays when they had to," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.
Notes: Cardinals OF Stephen Piscotty was sent home to "take care of things on a personal level," Matheny said. INF Jose Martinez (groin) was sent to Single-A Palm Beach for a rehab assignment. ... Rockies RHP Jon Gray (stress fracture in left foot) is out of his boot and will throw about 50 pitches in a bullpen session Sunday. He's hopeful he will be allowed to throw the session without stepping back into the boot. ... The Rockies are 13-3 in the first game of a series this season. Arenado had two doubles. The only position player in the lineup without a hit was OF Carlos Gonzalez. Pinch-hitter Gerardo Parra batted twice in the eighth, including a two-run double. Molina extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a single in the second. ... Cardinals RHP Adam Wainwright (4-3, 4.81 ERA) makes his 330th career appearance for the Cardinals today. That will tie him with Larry Jackson (1955-62) for 10th on the team's all-time list. Wainwright is 9-1 with a 1.70 ERA in 14 career appearances against Colorado. ... Another rookie takes the mound for Colorado. This time, it's LHP Kyle Freeland (5-2, 3.31 ERA), who is 2-2 with a 3.80 ERA at Coors Field.