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.
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.
Bennett appeared to have tamed Coors Field, blanking the Rockies on four hits over six innings to open the three-game set.
In each of his previous four big league starts, Bennett has gone at least five innings, but six frames ranked as a personal best for the 25-year-old lefty.
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 Wilyer Abreu’s infield single. Willson Contreras drove him home with a double down the right-field line that would hold up despite a late inning rally from the Rockies. Contreras scored on a Caleb Durbin single to left.
The Rockies rallied in the eighth inning, but had a runner thrown out at the plate with an outfield assist from center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela and another at second with an assist from Abreu in right.
That set the stage for Chapman, who entered Monday 14-for-14 in save chances with a 0.83 ERA.