Roman Anthony had Austin Gomber yelling at himself.
Anthony, the highly-hyped rookie who is the top prospect in baseball, blasted a two-out, two-run, 418-foot no-doubter to center field in the fifth that was the turning point in the series opener on Monday at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox rode that homer to a 9-3 win, dropping the Rockies to 21-70 as they remain on pace to surpass the ’24 White Sox as the worst team in modern baseball history.
Anthony finished with three hits on the night. He followed his fifth-inning homer with another single in the seventh, after which he showed off his five-tool projection by scoring from first on a single to right field. He was stealing on the play, but still, didn’t break stride as he was waved around third and beat the throw home with a perfect slide to extend Boston’s lead.
Meanwhile, old friend Trevor Story had an off night in his first game against his former team after missing the previous matchups due to injury. The Rockies shortstop and a two-time all-star from 2016-21 was 0 for 4, and also had an error in the second inning that led to an early 1-0 lead for Colorado.
After taking that lead, Gomber gave it right back amid a mediocre outing from the southpaw. Gomber allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits, a walk and five strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings. Boston starter Richard Fitts outpitched him, going 5 2/3 innings with one earned run for his first MLB win.
“(Fitts) was living on that top rail tonight, and we couldn’t get to that heater, and his slider was good too,” interim manager Warren Schaeffer told reporters. “We just had no answer for his fastball.”
Boston plated three runs in the bottom of the second after a leadoff walk by Rob Refsnyder got the Red Sox going. Wilyer Abreu had an RBI double, and Abraham Toro followed with a two-RBI double.
After Anthony’s homer in the fifth made it 5-1, Refsnyder’s infield single the next batter chased Gomber, who was heated and cussing as he walked off the mound. Gomber then proceeded to chuck his glove in the dugout and take his anger out on a cooler before Jimmy Herget stopped the bleeding by striking out Story to end the frame.
“(Gomber) just left that heater up (to Anthony), and I think he was really upset about that,” Schaeffer said. “Overall, I thought he pitched well and gave us a chance to win. … He was one or two pitches away from getting out of that inning. Obviously it didn’t work out tonight, but it could have.”
The Rockies got a pair of runs back with two outs in the sixth.
Michael Toglia grounded to third and Nate Eaton thought about tagging Thairo Estrada, who was coming from second. Estrada was initially ruled out of the baseline, but the umpires changed the call, resulting in a run scoring on the play. Ryan McMahon then ripped an RBI single to make it 5-3.
But Boston took the momentum back for good in the seventh. After Anthony scored on Jarren Duran’s single, Carlos Narváez’s RBI knock plated Duran to make it 7-3.
The Red Sox put on an exclamation point in the eighth with a pair of eye-popping homers off southpaw Ryan Rolison.
First, Ceddanne Rafaela hammered Rolison’s piped fastball 407 feet to left field. The homer would’ve traveled out to Lansdowne Street had it not hit an advertisement at the back of the seats atop the Green Monster.
Two batters later, Romy Gonzalez’s bomb topped Rafaela. Gonzalez blasted Rolison’s hanging curveball 454 feet to center. It came off the bat at 111.1 mph and exited the stadium, making it 9-3. The Rockies, meanwhile, only managed one hit over the final three innings.
Tuesday’s pitching matchup
Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (1-9, 5.49) at Red Sox RHP Brayan Bello (4-3, 3.42)
5:10 p.m. Tuesday, Fenway Park
TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).
Radio: 850 AM, 94.1 FM
Trending: The series in Beantown pits the two worst defensive teams in baseball against each other. Entering Monday, the Rockies led the National League with 75 errors, while the Red Sox led the American League with 74 errors.
Pitching probables
Wednesday: Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela (3-12, 6.57) at Red Sox RHP Lucas Giolito (5-1, 3.66), 5:10 p.m.
Thursday: Off day
Friday: Rockies RHP German Marquez (3-10, 5.84) at Reds RHP Chase Burns (0-1, 8.10), 5:10 p.m.
— Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
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