The Rockies’ first extra-inning game of the season produced a gritty 4-3 victory Monday night at Fenway Park in rainy Boston.
Colorado received excellent starting pitching, a handful of web gems and a few key hits. And for the second game in a row, they came back from the clubhouse after a long rain delay to post a victory.
“We earned this one, we deserved it,” manager Bud Black told reporters in Boston. “This was a good win for us.”
True enough, but the Red Sox gifted the Rockies two runs in the 10th.
The inning opened with Mike Moustakas on second base, but Nick Pivetta retired Jurickson Profar and Ezequiel Tovar. Boston chose to intentionally walk the red-hot Ryan McMahon, but Pivetta didn’t mean to walk Elias Diaz to load the bases, nor walk Randal Grichuk to give the Rockies a 3-2 lead.
Enter right-hander Joe Jacques, making his big-league debut. He should have gotten out of the inning, but Nolan Jones’ grounder to second skipped on the wet infield and first baseman Triston Casas made an error, allowing McMahon to score. Jones sprinted down the line and slid into first base to make sure he reached base safely.
Right-hander Matt Carasiti limited Boston to one run in the bottom of the frame to get the save.
The Red Sox took a 2-1 lead in the seventh on Christian Arroyo’s solo homer over the Green Monster. Arroyo’s homer came against veteran lefty Brent Suter, who had not served up a long ball since Sept. 27 of last season when he pitched for the Brewers, a span of 41 innings.
The Rockies don’t often rally on the road, but this time they did, tying the game 2-2 in the eighth. Jurickson Profar sliced a one-out double into the right-field corner against reliever Josh Winckowski and scored on Diaz’s single through the left side. Colorado could have put away the game, then and there, when it loaded the basis, but lefty reliever Brennan Bernadino struck out Jones to snuff out the rally.
But Jones, who’s provided Colorado with a spark since being called up on May 16, made up for the whiff by making a spectacular catch against the right-field wall to rob Rafael Devers of a two-run homer to close out the eighth.
Long before the rain delay and the late-game drama, the Rockies received another encouraging start from right-hander Connor Seabold. Obtained from the Red Sox in an offseason trade, Seabold pitched six solid innings.
“I got in a little bit of trouble early but got out of it and then I just started pounding the zone,” Seabold told AT&T SportsNet.
Seabold is proving to be one of the best finds of the season. Initially inserted into the rotation because of Colorado’s rash of injuries, he gave up one run on six hits, walked one and struck out six. He needed just 88 pitches.
“He was outstanding,” Black told reporters. “He threw the fastball at the top of the zone against some batter, and in and out. He pitched, he really did. The poise, we’ve talked about that. Under control, (slow) heartbeat, and throwing strikes. So, good for him.”
Over his last three starts, Seabold has posted a 2.08 ERA, whittling his overall ERA to 4.70.
The start of Seabold’s evening was less than ideal. The Red Sox opened the first with back-to-back singles by Jarren Duran, Alex Verdugo and Justin Turner.
No biggie. Seabold induced Rafael Devers to ground out back to the mound to start a 1-2-3 double play. Seabold struck out Adam Duvall to complete the great escape.
Boston finally cracked Seabold for a run in the sixth, tying the game 1-1. Alex Verdugo drew a one-out walk and scored on Justin Turner’s double. Turner, the former Dodgers infielder, entered the game hitting .329 against Colorado.
Colorado took a 1-0 lead in the fourth, boosted by a one-out double by McMahon, who’s been the team’s best player in June. McMahon scored on shortstop Enrique Hernandez’s errant throw. Hernandez fielded Randal Grichuck’s grounder but then chucked the ball away.
Boston’s James Paxton, the veteran lefty, pitched a terrific six innings, allowing no earned runs over six innings. He gave up four hits, struck out eight and walk only one.
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