G43: Red Sox 6, Rockies 5 (10)

Rockies - 000 200 300 0 - 5 11  0
Red Sox - 203 000 000 1 - 6 13  0

A ground ball single up the middle by Michael Chavis gave the Red Sox their second walkoff win of the season. Rockies reliver Chad Bettis threw two pitches and got the loss. His first pitch was crushed to deep center by Xander Bogaerts, who played it safe and stopped at second with a double. After Rafael Devers was walked intentionally, the Ice Horse knocked Bettis's second pitch into center, salvaging a night in which the Red Sox blew a 5-0 lead and were in danger of losing in extra innings for the second consecutive night.

Boston wasted no time in getting on the board in the first inning. The first three hitters - Andrew Benintendi, Mookie Betts, and J.D. Martinez - singled for a 1-0 lead. Mitch Moreland's GIDP scored a second run. Benintendi tripled with one out in the third (only the second Red Sox triple of the season) and scored when Betts went to the opposite field on an 0-2 pitch. Martinez then deposited his ninth home run of the year into the Red Sox bullpen.

Edward Rodriguez (6-9-5-1-10, 106) struck out two batters in each of the first three innings. He stranded runners at first and third in the second and ran into trouble in the fourth. With one on and one out, Ian Desmond doubled to left. David Dahl's sac fly scored Raimel Tapia and Tony Wolters's double down the right field line scored Desmond.

Rodriguez threw only seven pitches in the seventh and was pulled after loading the bases. Ryan McMahon singled to right-center, Wolters hit a ground-rule double to right, and Charlie Blackmon was hit by a pitch. Matt Barnes allowed all three inherited runners to score. He gave up a two-run single to Trevor Story. After Nolan Arenado struck out, the Rockies tied the game on Daniel Murphy's groundout to second. Marcus Walden came in and fanned Tapia for the third out. Walden also pitched a clean eighth and ninth.

The Red Sox had chances to grab the lead in the late innings. Singles from Chavis and Christian Vázquez gave Boston runners on first and second with one out in the seventh. But Mike Dunn struck out Benintendi and Carlos Estevez got Betts to foul out to the catcher. Scott Oberg walked two men with one down in the eighth, but Devers flied out to deep right (NESN's cameraman thought the fly ball was going to travel about 850 feet and truped the hell out of everyone) and Chavis grounded out catcher-to-first.

In the ninth, Bryan Shaw walked Benintendi with two outs. Betts's popup down the left field line fell safely and bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double. It was Mookie's 200th career double. Shortstop Story and left fielder Tapia collided on the play (their knees crashed together) and Story left the game. JDM was walked intentionally and Eduardo Núñez (who had pinch-run for Moreland in the previous inning) grounded into a fielder's choice.

Heath Hembree allowed a leadoff double off the top of the left field scoreboard to Arenado in the tenth. He got two popups, but then walked Desmond. Brandon Workman was called in and he struck out Dahl.

German Márquez / Eduardo Rodriguez

Benintendi, LF
Betts, RF
Martinez, DH
Moreland, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Devers, 3B
Chavis, 2B
Bradley, CF
Vázquez, C

Eduardo Rodriguez:

First 2 starts of year: 11 earned runs
Subsequent 6 starts: 11 earned runs

Rodriguez has not allowed a home run in his last four starts, matching the longest streak of his career. He has faced 114 batters since giving up a dong.

Since April 24, the Red Sox are 13-5 stretch and have the American League's lowest team (ERA 2.83) and MLB's lowest opponent average (.188) and lowest opponent OPS (.584). In that same 18-game stretch, Boston's hitters lead the AL in runs per game (6.94) and lead all MLB teams in OBP (.377).

Since April 12, the Red Sox have the fourth-lowest starters ERA in MLB (3.16). The starters have allowed four earned runs or fewer in all 29 games and three earned runs or fewer in 25 of 29 games.

Since April 14, the Red Sox are 14-0 when scoring 5+ runs. (From March 28 to April 13, they were 4-5.)

Yesterday's game was the 16th in history (since at least 1908) in which a pitcher struck out 17 or more batters and did not get a "win". Over all, it happened to Randy Johnson four times and to Nolan Ryan three times (including twice in two months in 1974, 19 strikeouts in games of 11 and 13 innings). Chris Sale's effort is one of only eight games in which the pitcher threw nine or fewer innings.

As noted, Sale is the only pitcher in baseball history to have 17+ strikeouts in an outing of fewer than eight innings. ... Randy Johnson had two eight-inning starts in which he struck out 17 and 18 batters, Johan Santana and Anibal Sanchez each struck out 17 in eight innings, and Corey Kluber struck out 18 in eight innings.

Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reported:

Sale has at least 14 strikeouts and no walks in each of his past two starts. Since 1893, when the mound moved to its current distance, the only other pitcher in baseball history with two straight starts of this type was Dwight Gooden in September [12 and 17,] 1984, with 16 strikeouts in each of his outings.

Sale is the second Red Sox pitcher ever to post back-to-back starts of at least 10 strikeouts and zero walks. The other is Cy Young (September 19 and 23, 1905).

Sale tied Randy Johnson (April 21, 2002) for the most strikeouts by a starting pitcher against the Rockies in a single game in franchise history. [Johnson walked one batter.]

The 17 strikeouts are tied for second-most in Red Sox history with Pedro Martinez (September 10, 1999 at New York and May 6, 2000 vs. Tampa Bay) and Bill Monbouquette (May 12, 1961 at Washington).