Red Sox were 30-0 when leading after 8 innings ... until Monday

DENVER – Jake Bennett pitched possibly the best game of his big league career Monday, only to see the game slip away from Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman in the ninth inning for a 3-2 loss to the Rockies in the opener of a three-game set.

With the Red Sox taking a 2-0 lead into the eighth, they held off a Rockies rally with a pair of outfield assists, with center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela throwing a runner out at the plate and Wilyer Abreu starting a 9-2-6 play to nab another at second.

That set the stage for Chapman, who entered Monday 14-for-14 in save chances with a 0.83 ERA.

Chapman gave up three successive hits without retiring a batter, then yielded a bases-loaded triple from Jake McCarthy that bounced around in the corner, eluding Jarren Duran in left as the Rockies runners all came home.

“In those moments, I definitely try to slow things down in my mind, just focusing on throwing strikes, keeping the ball down, trying to get a ground ball,” Chapman said via a team interpreter of the fateful frame. “But in the moment of truth, the balls went to the corners.”

McCarthy became the sixth player in the Divisional Era (since 1969) to hit a walk-off triple when trailing by two runs, and the first since Grady Sizemore in 2006.

The blown save ended Chapman’s career-high-tying stretch of 29 consecutive saves since he last blew one on July 23, 2025, the second-longest active streak in the Majors. The inning accounted for his first earned runs on the road this season, with the three earned runs exceeding his season total (two) in his 22 previous appearances.

“That stuff is in the past,” Chapman said of his streak. “It is what it is. I didn't get the job done tonight.”

It was the Red Sox’s first loss of the season when the team took a lead into the eighth inning. They were 29-0 when leading after seven and 30-0 when leading after eight entering Monday.

“It doesn't happen to us often, and it hasn't happened all year,” Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said of the Rockies’ late breakthrough. “[Our relievers] are tremendous at the back end. Give credit where credit's due – they put some good at-bats on [Garrett] Whitlock in the eighth and they put some good at bats on Chappy.”

Bennett appeared to have tamed Coors Field, blanking the Rockies on four hits over six innings. He became just the sixth rookie pitcher all time, and the fourth visiting pitcher, to throw six scoreless innings with nine or more strikeouts at Coors Field and the first visiting rookie to do it without walking a batter.

“I thought I attacked the zone well,” Bennett said. “I had a good mix of two-seam, four-seam, changeup, sweeper, cutter when we need it.”

Even after a rough loss, Tracy appreciated the performance.

“We couldn't ask for more,” Tracy said. “He was tremendous.”

In each of his previous four big league starts, Bennett has gone at least five innings, but six frames and nine strikeouts both ranked as a personal best for the 25-year-old lefty, who agreed it felt like the strongest start of his career.

“I was able to execute for the most part when I wanted,” Bennet said. “I feel like I'm getting more comfortable each time I go out there. I just try and stack positive days and keep building on each start.”

For five innings, Rockies starter Ryan Feltner matched Bennett’s effectiveness, with both teams posting nothing but goose eggs on the scoreboard.

The Red Sox finally broke through in the sixth, staging a two-out rally sparked by Abreu’s infield single. Willson Contreras drove him home with a double down the right-field line, and Contreras scored on a Caleb Durbin single to left.

“Regardless of if it happens late off Chap, or if it happens early, they all sting right now,” Tracy said. “The guys are battling. Even today, we had some good at-bats the first two innings and sent nine hitters to the plate. There was a lull in there, we get the lead, and they're grinding for wins. So whether it happens late in the ninth or earlier in the game, they all sting. It doesn't sting any worse.”

Contreras had a simple answer for the uncharacteristic unravelling.

“Baseball,” he said to explain the unexplainable. “Especially here at Coors Field, the game won't end until 27 outs are made. We talked about it today before the game, and it happened. Weird way to lose a ball game, for sure, especially having Chapman on the mound. We feel great with him on the mound. But like I said, baseball is baseball.”