DENVER — The Rockies’ pitching depth is now being put to the test. 

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Starting pitching is both their strongest group — with five experienced players — and their weakest — with little to no backup available in the minors. Until now, it hasn’t been an issue, as they’ve been able to skate by, only needing a replacement for one game. But with Antonio Senzatela leaving the game on Monday in the third inning with a back strain and likely heading to the injured list, it could now be an issue. 

The Giants took advantage of the gap, beating the Rockies 7-6. The Giants have now won 11 in a row against the Rockies, including seven in a row at Coors Field. They outscored the Rockies 85-34 during that stretch, and the Rockies are now below .500 for the first time since Opening Day. 

“Obviously after this game, it’s not great,” Ryan McMahon said. “We’ve been showing up everyday flushing the game from the night before, coming in with a good attitude and a good focus, understanding how early it is in the season. It doesn’t make these losses hurt any less.”

The Rockies came back from a 4-1 deficit, stringing together four straight hits to get within one in the fifth. McMahon then homered to tie up. Down again in the seventh, this time 6-4, CJ Cron and McMahon each had RBI singles to tie the game back up. The Giants, though, came firing back, scoring the winning run off a Mike Yastrzemski home run in the bottom of the ninth. Daniel Bard, for the second night in a row, gave up the winning runs. 

“It looked to be middle down,” manager Bud Black said of that pitch Bard threw to Yastrzemski. “He sort of golfed it.”

As for that pitching predicament, that kicked off in the fourth. Senzatela was off to a good start, striking out two and holding the Giants to one hit through two innings. He started getting ready for the third, when it appeared that he landed funny after a warm-up pitch. Trainers and manager Bud Black came out to check on him, and he left the game a few minutes later. 

Senzatela started feeling the pain three days ago while throwing a bullpen, and it really started to bother him in the first when he went to grab a comebacker. 

So out came Ty Blach on a moment’s notice. He gave up his first run right away, a solo shot from Curt Casali. Casali got him again in the fifth, this time a three-run home run to put the Giants solidly in the lead. 

Ashton Goudeau, their other long reliever option, took over in the sixth. He made it through that inning fine, but was tapped for two runs in the seventh.

Now the real question comes: who can replace Senzatela on Saturday if need be? Goudeau and Blach could also both be used as openers, but neither are built up to do a full start. That leads them to their Triple-A start, and likely to Ryan Feltner, who is their top starter there. He is the obvious candidate to be added to the rotation despite not impressing in his three major league starts. Besides him, their options are scarce. Peter Lambert and Ryan Rolison, who both entered the spring in contention for a major league spot, are injured and have not played this year.