COLORADO ROCKIES NOTES:
WICKED
- The Colorado Rockies continue their 10-game road trip tonight with the third and final game of a three-game set at Fenway Park … following this series, will travel to Atlanta for four games followed by Cincinnati for three … this is the first of two 10-game road trips for the Rockies this season (also: Aug. 4-13).
- The Rockies are in a stretch of 16-straight days with a game, and 33 games in 34 day overall from May 19-June 21 … are 10-15 through the first 25 games of this stretch.
THAT’S A LOTTA BASEBALL
- The Rockies have won three consecutive games with the winning run scoring in their last at-bat, the first time they’ve had three-straight last at-bat wins since July 4-7, 2010.
- Have won each of the last two games in Boston in extra innings, their first time playing back-to-back extra innings games since Aug. 20-21, 2022 vs. San Francisco … it’s their first time winning consecutive extra-innings games on the road since June 14-15, 1998 at San Francisco and at Los Angeles-NL … entering the series, the Rockies had gone a franchise-record 78-straight games without extra innings since Sept. 23, 2022 … their 67 games to begin a season without an extra-inning game marked the third-longest such stretch since 1901, trailing Boston in 2005 (98 games) and the White Sox in 2002 (69 games).
- On Sunday at Coors Field, snapped their six-game losing streak and avoided a winless homestand with their walk-off win over the Padres Sunday … tied the game in the eighth on a Coco Montes two-run home run in his Major League debut, tied it again in the ninth on a Ryan McMahon home run, and then walked it off two batters and an 85-minute rain delay later on a Nolan Jones solo home run … it’s the first time in franchise history that the Rockies hit game-tying home runs in both the eighth and ninth innings and followed with a walk-off home run, and the first time any team in the Majors has done this since San Diego on May 25, 2008 vs. Cincinnati.
JONES JIVING
- Nolan Jones’ walk-off home run Sunday was the first of his career, and the first walk-off home run by a Rockie since Elias Díaz on Sept. 9, 2022 … measured at 472 feet, it’s the longest walk-off home run in baseball in the Statcast Era (since 2015) and the eighth-longest overall in the Majors this season.
- Jones also hit a 483-foot home run on June 7, the second-longest home run in the Majors this season … is the only player in the Majors with two of the 10 longest home runs in baseball this season.
- The home run last Wednesday was measured at 114.2 mph off the bat, the third-hardest hit home run by a Rockies player in the Statcast Era (since 2015), trailing two Carlos González home runs hit in 2016 (117.4 mph, June 4 at Arizona) and 2018 (114.4 mph, July 31 at Cincinnati).
- Since his recall from Triple-A on May 26, the 25-year-old is slashing .345/.406/.638 with five doubles, four home runs, 12 RBI and four stolen bases while hitting in 12 of 17 … ranks eighth in the NL in slugging and OPS (1.044), and tied for ninth in hits and extra-base hits over that span.
- Jones also stole a base in four-straight games June 6-9, the longest stolen base streak for a Rockies player since Charlie Blackmon stole a base in five-straight June 11-15, 2011.
MAC ATTACK
- Ryan McMahon has reached base in 19 of his last 21 with nine multi-hit games since May 23 … is slashing .350/.447/.700 with six doubles, two triple, six home runs, 19 RBI and 13 walks over that span … since May 23 ranks second in the NL in OPS (1.147), tied for second in RBI and extra-base hits, fifth in hits and tied for seventh in home runs … his 19 doubles on the season are tied for fourth in the NL.
- McMahon’s 2.1 WAR (Baseball Reference) ranks first among NL players with at least 50% of their games at third base this season … his 10 defensive runs saved at third base also the second-most among third basemen (via. Sports Info Solutions).
- Since moving from second base to third base on April 18, McMahon has slashed .282/.363/.511 with 16 doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 29 RBI.
WAY DOWN IN COCOMO
- Infielder Coco Montes went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI in his Major League debut on Sunday … hit a game-tying two-run home run in the eighth inning … became the ninth Rockies player to homer in their Major League debut (last: Sam Hilliard, Aug. 27, 2019 vs. Boston), the first to hit a game-tying or go-ahead homer in the eighth inning or later in their debut … is the first Major Leaguer to do so since Ke’Bryan Hayes on Sept. 1, 2020 vs. Chicago-NL.
BABY GOT BACKSTOP
- Rockies catcher Elias Díaz’s .296 batting average ranks eighth in the National League and is the highest among all MLB catchers … his .336 (36-for-107) average at home is the sixth-highest in the Majors while his .383 (23- for-60) average with runners in scoring position is the sixth-highest in the NL.
- Has appeared in 56 games at catcher, the second-most in the Majors … his 12 catcher caught stealing are third-most in the Majors.
D-FENCE
- Catcher Elias Díaz’s 1.3 defensive WAR (Baseball Reference) is tied for the fifth-highest among all players, the best among all catchers … 3B Ryan McMahon’s 1.0 dWAR is tied for the eighth-best among all position players, second-best among third basemen … SS Ezequiel Tovar’s 0.9 dWAR is tied the seventh-best the NL.
- Brenton Doyle’s outfield assist was last night was recorded at 99.2 miles per hours via Statcast, the second fastest throw on an outfield assist this season in all of baseball … Doyle has three of the top five fastest throws among all outfields assists in MLB in 2023.
ROCKIES STARTING PITCHER – #26 AUSTIN GOMBER LHP
HI, I’M AUSTIN
- Winter Garden, Fla., native is in his 10th professional season, his fifth in the Majors and his third with the Rockies.
- Acquired by Colorado, along with four other players including INF Elehuris Montero in exchange for 3B Nolan Arenado.
- Originally selected by St. Louis in the fourth round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of Florida Atlantic University.
THE CROWN DOES FIT
- Allowed a career-high 11 hits his last time out, last Friday vs. San Diego at Coors Field … surrendered seven runs with two walks and one strikeout while giving up a season-high three home runs in four innings pitched.
- Suffered his first loss since April 19 vs. Pittsburgh.
HOW THE TURNTABLES…
- Has gone 4-1 with the Rockies logging a 7-2 record over his last nine starts since April 24 … has posted a 5.89 ERA (44.1 IP, 29 ER) over that span with 18 walks and 27 strikeouts … has received 39 total runs of support this stretch, a 7.92 run support average.
- Was on the losing side of each of his first four starts of the season, the eighth time a Rockies starter has started 0-4 through their first four starts of a season … first since Roy Oswalt (five straight, June 20-Sept. 14) and Jeff Manship (four straight, Aug.8-24) in 2013.
BUNKER HILL
- Making his first career start against the Red Sox and first start against any AL East club … has gone 1-1 with a 5.56 ERA (11.1 IP, 7 ER) in three Interleague starts this season, all in AL ballparks.
- Career Interleague record as a starter of 8-3 with a 3.56 ERA (81.0 IP, 32 ER) in 16 starts … 5-2 with a 3.47 ERA (49.1 IP, 19 ER) in 10 starts in AL parks.
ON YOUR LEFT
- Left-handed hitters have hit .377 (20-for-53) with five home runs off Gomber this season after holding opposing lefties to a .221 average in 2022 (30-for-136), the ninth-lowest in a single season in franchise history (min. 140 batters faced.).
- Entering this season lefties had slashed .236/.294/.373 (88-for-373) with 10 home runs off Gomber.
HAPPY HOME
- In 57 career home games (32 starts) with both St. Louis and Colorado, is 13-10 with a 4.94 ERA (202.1 IP, 111 ER).
- Since joining the Rockies, has gone 10-8 with a 5.29 ERA (156.2 IP, 92 ER) at Coors Field with 43 walks and 107 strikeouts … in 2021, went 5-1 with a 2.09 ERA (47.1 IP, 11 ER) in nine starts at home, posting a 0.95 WHIP.
WON FOR THE ROAD
- Has won two of his past three road starts, allowing four total runs on 14 hits across 13.2 innings.
- Is 2-2 with a 4.63 ERA (23.1 IP, 12 ER) overall in five road starts … went 6-11 with a 6.07 ERA (105.1 IP, 71 ER) in 22 road starts in his first two seasons with the Rockies from 2021-22.
- Went 4-0 with a 2.54 ERA (46.0 IP, 13 ER) in his first nine career road starts with the Cardinals.
HEART OF THE ORDER
- So far this season, opposing number 3-4-5 hitters are hitting .233 (21-for90) against Gomber, striking out 16 times.
- Conversely, the 1-2 spots in the order are 27-for-69 (.391) off the southpaw
BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:
STATE OF THE SOX: At 33-35 (.485), the Red Sox entered today with a share of MLB’s 18th-best record. Since improving to 21-14 after an 8-game winning streak from 4/29-5/6, the Sox are 12-21…They are 5-11 in their last 15 games and 3-8 in their last 11.
HOME COOKING: The Red Sox are 0-2 so far on their 6-game homestand vs. COL (3 games) and NYY (3 games). The Red Sox are 17-18 at Fenway Park…They’re 4-11 in their last 15 games at the venue after going 11-3 in their previous 14. Boston has lost a season-high 5 straight home games. The Sox scored 6 runs last night after scoring 8 runs total in their previous 4 home games.
RED SOX OFFENSE IN HOME GAMES
Stat MLB Rank
5.7 R/game 3rd
10.0 H/game 1st
3.9 XBH/game 2nd
118 wRC+ 5th
Stat MLB Rank
.286 AVG 2nd
.356 OBP 1st
.470 SLG 4th
.826 OPS 3rd
SERIES BUSINESS: The Red Sox have lost the 3-game series to COL, falling to 12-9-1 in series play (6-5-0 at home). The Sox are 2-5 in their last 7 series, beginning 5/22. 4 of the Red Sox’ 8 series losses have been sweeps (0-3 vs. PIT, 0-4 at TB, 0-3 vs. STL, 0-3 at LAA).
NO TIME TO REST: Today concludes the Red Sox’ stretch of playing 13 games in 12 days from 6/3-14 (doubleheader on 6/3)…Tomorrow is a scheduled off day, the only break in Boston’s stretch of 23 games in 23 days from 6/3-25. The Sox are in a stretch of playing 15 consecutive night games from 6/6-21.
SOX & ROCKIES: Since Interleague play began in 1997, the Red Sox are 13-12 against the Rockies (8-7 at Fenway Park). The Red Sox are now 4-4-2 in 10 series all time vs. COL, including 3-2-1 in 6 series against the Rockies at Fenway Park. The teams last met in 2019, when the Rockies visited Fenway Park for a 2-game series from 5/14-15 and the Red Sox visited Coors Field for 2 games from 8/27-28.
WILD WEST: The Red Sox are 65-45 (.591) against NL West opponents since Interleague play began in 1997…They are 44-26 (.629) vs. the NL West since the start of 2010. Prior to this series, the Sox had won both their series against NL West opponents this season (2-1 at SD, 2-1 at ARI)…They’ll visit SF from 7/28-30 and host LAD from 8/25-27.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS: The Red Sox are 297-209 (.588) all time in Interleague play, 2nd best in MLB, but 10-15 this season. The Sox are 4-4-1 in Interleague series this year…They’ve lost all 4 home series vs. NL teams, going 1-10 in those games (0-4 vs. PIT, 0-3 vs. STL, 1-2 vs. CIN, 0-2 vs. COL).
BONUS BASEBALL: Each of the Red Sox’ last 3 games have gone to extra innings (3-2 win Sunday at NYY, 3-4 loss Monday vs. COL, 6-7 loss last night vs COL). This is the first time the Red Sox have played 3 consecutive extra-inning games since June 2000 (6/25-28)…It is the first time they have done so on 3 consecutive days since May 1996 (5/10-12). The Red Sox have never played an extra-inning game on 4 consecutive days…They went to extras in 4 straight games in May 1996 (5/10-14, off day on 5/13)…They also played 4 extra-inning games in a 3-day span in May/June 1943, when both games of both doubleheaders vs. the St. Louis Browns on 5/31 and 6/2 went to extras with an off day on 6/1.
The last MLB team to play extra-inning games on 4 consecutive days was Toronto from 8/23-26/2014.
CLOSE SHAVES: 14 of the Red Sox’ last 17 games have been decided by 3 runs or fewer, including 8 of their last 9…11 of their last 17 games have been decided by 1 or 2 runs. The Sox have played 3 straight 1-run games for the 2nd time this season (also 4/16-18)…They haven’t played 4 consecutive 1-run games since 9/8-13/2021 (5 games). Boston’s 16-17 (.485) mark in games decided by 1 or 2 runs ranks 18th in MLB.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Red Sox lost to the Rockies in 10 innings last night, 7-6…Boston trailed 4-0 entering the bottom of the 4th inning and scored 2 runs in the 4th, 1 in the 5th, and 1 in the 6th to tie the game, 4-4. The Rockies scored 3 runs in the top of the 10th inning, then Rafael Devers’ (2-for-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, BB) led off the bottom of the frame with his 2nd HR of the game, a 2-run homer to cut the deficit to 7-6. The Sox scored 2 runs in the 4th and 10th innings, after they hadn’t scored more than 1 run in an inning since 6/6 at CLE (4 runs, 8th inning).
FOREVER AND DEVERS: Last night was Rafael Devers’ 15th career multi-homer game, 3rd this season (also 4/8 at DET and 5/19 at SD). He hit his 155th and 156th home runs last night, tying Xander Bogaerts for 16th most in Red Sox history…He’s 4 HR shy of tying Tony Conigliaro (160) for 2nd most HR prior to turning 27 in Red Sox history (1st: Jim Rice-172). Devers leads MLB in RBI (56)…He ranks T-3rd in the AL in HR (17), most among AL 3rd basemen.
START ME UP: Beginning 5/17, Red Sox starting pitchers rank 5th in MLB with a 3.60 ERA (50 ER/125.0 IP)…They allowed 2 ER or fewer in 18 of those 25 games. The Sox are 14-6 (.700) when their starting pitcher throws 6.0+ innings…They are 27-20 (.574) when their starter throws 5.0+ innings. Sox starters entered last night with a season-long streak of 4 consecutive quality starts (previous: 8/12-16/22).
RED SOX STARTERS, LAST 5 GAMES
Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO
Garrett Whitlock (Fri. at NYY) 6.1 7 2 1 1 6
Tanner Houck (Sat. at NYY) 6.0 3 2 2 1 6
Brayan Bello (Sun. at NYY) 7.0 3 2 2 2 3
James Paxton (Mon. vs. COL) 6.0 4 1 0 1 8
Kutter Crawford (Tue. vs. COL) 4.0 5 4 4 3 5
WHAT A RELIEF: Over the last 5 games, Red Sox relievers have allowed 4 earned runs in 17.2 IP (2.04 ERA). In their last 26 games, beginning 5/16, Red Sox relievers rank 9th in MLB with a 3.65 ERA (40 ER/98.2 IP).
RISPY BUSINESS: In their last 11 games, the Red Sox are 15-for-99 (.152) with runners in scoring position…Overall with RISP, the Sox rank 3rd in the majors in strikeout rate (19.2%), 4th in AVG (.280), 6th in OBP (.356) and 9th in OPS (.788)
TONIGHT’S STARTER: 22 GARRETT WHITLOCK – RHP
W-L ERA G GS IP ER HR BB SO WHIP AVG
2023 3-2 4.78 6 6 32.0 17 6 6 26 1.28 .282
CAREER 15-8 3.09 83 15 183.2 63 22 38 189 1.10 .237
Earned his 3rd win of the season after allowing 2 runs over 6.1 IP on Friday night at NYY (7 H, BB, 6 SO, HR)…Retired 14 of his first 19 batters faced before giving up a solo HR to Josh Donaldson in the 6th inning. On 6/9, was his 3rd career start of at least 6.0 IP with 1 BB or fewer (also 5/27/22 vs. BAL and 6/1/22 vs. CIN). Among Red Sox pitchers in the Live Ball Era (min. 150.0 IP), ranks 18th in ERA (3.09) and 5th in SO/BB ratio (4.97) behind only Koji Uehara (7.86), Chris Sale (6.25), Pedro Martinez (5.45), and Curt Schilling (5.31). Owns a 2.81 ERA (10 ER/32.0 IP) in 13 career Interleague games (4 starts). Opponents are 4-for-27 with 12 SO in at-bats ending with a sweeper.
