Final, Red Sox 11-4: And that’ll do it.
The Rockies put men in scoring position with two outs in the ninth, but Pedro Beato got Todd Helton to ground out to second baseman to put a bow on this one.
The Red Sox unleashed the full extent of their potent offense tonight, tallying a season-high 20 hits and chasing Rockies starter Juan Nicasio after just 2 1/3 innings.
Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Daniel Nava and Jose Iglesias all had four hits for the home team, with Ellsbury scoring a game-high three runs and Pedroia driving in four.
These two teams will get an early start tomorow, with first pitch scheduled for 4:05 p.m.
Thanks for joining me tonight, everyone. Good night, and try to stay cool out there.
End 8th, Red Sox 11-4: The Red Sox have reached a season high for hits tonight, bringing their total to 20 with two more base knocks in the eighth.
Boston also pushed across its 11th run of the night in the inning, with Jarrod Saltalamacchia scoring from third on a bobbled ground ball by third baseman Nolan Arenado. Before Salty led off the eighth with a single, he had been the only Red Sox batter without a hit in the game.
Dustin Pedroia struck out with men on second and third to end the inning, but newly promoted Pedro Beato will now have a seven-run cushion to work with in the ninth.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 10-4: The Rockies put a pair in scoring position but could not do any damage against Craig Breslow in the eighth.
Breslow got Todd Helton to pop out in foul territory before allowing a single to Wilin Rosario and a double to Corey Dickerson in consecutive at-bats.
The southpaw then settled down, though, retiring hot-hitting Nolan Arenado and No. 9 hitter Jonathan Herrera in order to close out the eighth.
The Red Sox now come to the plate for what they hope will be the final time tonight.
End 7th, Red Sox 10-4: In his first game as the undisputed everyday third baseman, Jose Iglesias has not disappointed.
Iglesias led off the seventh with a single, improving his line to 3-for-4 on the night.
Jacoby Ellsbury followed with a base hit of his own, reaching base when his line drive ricocheted off pitcher Manny Corpas’ leg.
Shane Victorino then dribbled one down the first-base line, providing the inning’s first out but allowing both runners to advance, and Dustin Pedroia brought Iglesias home with a sacrifice fly to deep center.
With first base open, Rockies manager Walt Weiss chose to intentionally walk David Ortiz, which the Fenway Faithful did not take kindly to. That brought up Mike Napoli, who smashed a single into the left-field corner, scoring Ellsbury for the third time tonight and cracking double digits on the scoreboard.
Daniel Nava ran his count full but flied out to right field to end the inning.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 8-4: Shane Victorino came up favoring the right side of his head after colliding with the right-field wall.
While ranging back for a Dexter Fowler fly ball, Victorino’s head appeared to collide with a rivet that holds up an outfield sign on the front wall of the Red Sox bullpen.
Victorino could not come up with the high fly, allowing Nolan Arenado, who singled to open the inning, to score and Herrera to scamper to third base on the error. Victorino was examined by medical staff on the field but remained in the game, though he spent much of the down time between pitches with his cap off.
Alex Wilson settled down after the two hard-hit balls, striking out Dexter Fowler and DJ LeMahieu. He was then relieved by Craig Breslow, who surrendered a rocket of a base hit to Carlos Gonzalez on his first pitch. Daniel Nava made a play for the ball in left-center field, but it fell out of his reach and allowed Herrera to score from third.
Michael Cuddyer flied out to Victorino to end the inning. It’s seventh-inning stretch time at the ballpark
End 6th, Red Sox 8-2: Whelp, that was quick.
Manny Corpas needed just seven pitches to retire the side in order, striking out Daniel Nava and getting both Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Stephen Drew to ground out to second base. Salty remains the only Red Sox batter without a hit tonight.
Ryan Dempster’s night is indeed done, as Alex Wilson comes on in relief for the Sox. Dempster finishes with two runs allowed (both earned) on six hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out four.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 8-2: With Alex Wilson warming in the bullpen, the sixth may have been the final inning for Ryan Dempster. If so, he went out on a high note.
Dempster allowed Wilin Rosario to reach on a two-out single but was otherwise flawless, striking out Michael Cuddyer and Corey Dickerson and getting Todd Helton to fly out to left.
Dempster is up to 106 pitches on the night, and he would be in line to pick up his fifth win of the season if he exits.
Manny Corpas will come on to pitch the home half of the sixth for Colorado.
End 5th, Red Sox 8-2: For the first time tonight, the Red Sox go down scoreless.
David Ortiz worked a two-out walk off Adam Ottavino, but the big No. 0 induced a trio of easy flyouts to close out the fifth unscathed.
Ryan Dempster returns to the mound for a sixth inning of work with his pitch count sitting at 84.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 8-2: Ryan Dempster made easy work of the Rockies in the fifth, retiring the side in order for the second time tonight.
Dempster got leadoff man Dexter Fowler to fly out to deep center and DJ LeMahieu to do the same to right, with Shane Victorino ranging far to his left to make the grab, before striking out Carlos Gonzalez swinging to wrap up the inning.
End 4th, Red Sox 8-2: As solid as Daniel Nava’s night at the plate has been, Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s has been just as bad.
Nava opened the fourth inning with his third single of the game, but for the third time, he was unable to advance past first base.
With Nava on first, Salty struck out swinging — also for the third time tonight — and Nava was nailed trying to steal second in a strike-’em-out-throw-’em-out double play.
We were then subjected to a lengthy delay, but it had nothing to do with the light drizzle that began to fall at Fenway Park.
Stephen Drew’s line drive landed perfectly on the top of the center-field wall, appearing to give the shortstop his 10th home run of the season. But the umpires felt otherwise, and after they exited the field to review the video, Drew was awarded a triple.
Jose Iglesias made sure his infield mate was not left hanging, though, as he roped a double to center field in the next at-bat, scoring Drew for the Red Sox’ eighth run of the night.
Jacoby Ellsbury then came close to beating out an infield single to extend the inning, but Jonathan Herrera’s throw caught him in time to retire the side.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 7-2: Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki get the majority of the headlines, but Michael Cuddyer is quietly having one of the best seasons of his 13-year career.
With a leadoff single in the fourth, Cuddyer extended his career-long hit streak to 22 games — the longest active streak in the majors — and his on-base streak to 41 games.
Cuddyer advanced to second on a wild pitch, but Ryan Dempster quickly retired both Todd Helton and Wilin Rosario.
Rookie Corey Dickerson then came to the plate and, in just his second major league game, worked the at-bat of the night, fouling off five Dempster offerings before laying off one just off the plate to earn a 10-pitch walk.
That free pass proved crucial for Colorado, as Nolan Arenado singled into center field on the first pitch he saw, scoring Cuddyer from second for the Rockies’ second run. Dickerson was able to advance to third when Jacoby Ellsbury bobbled the base hit, but Dempster retired Jonathan Herrera on a ground ball to leave the man stranded.
End 3rd, Red Sox 7-1: Round and round we go.
The Red Sox added another two runs off Juan Nicasio, and this one is in danger of turning into a laugher.
After Stephen Drew flied out to left to get things started in the third, Jose Iglesias reached base for the first time tonight on a line-drive base hit up the middle.
Jacoby Ellsbury then lunged at a 1-0 pitch way out of the strike zone but lucked out, as he managed to get just enough of the ball to flare a bloop single into shallow left.
Nicasio was then victimized again by Shane Victorino, who knocked a base hit into right field that Michael Cuddyer could not field cleanly, allowing Iglesias to score from second. A fourth straight single, this one by Dustin Pedroia, brought home Ellsbury and officially ended the night for the Rockies starter.
He was replaced by Northeastern product Adam Ottavino, the first major league pitcher to wear No. 0 (which I personally think is the coolest thing in the world). Ottavino’s first opponent was David Ortiz, who saw 10 pitches before finally striking out swinging.
Victorino and Pedroia both advanced on a double steal during Ortiz’s at-bat, but Mike Napoli was unable to drive them in. Napoli flied out to center to end the inning.
After a lengthy layoff, Ryan Dempster returns to the mound for the fourth.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 5-1: While the Boston offense has piled up runs, Ryan Dempster has thrown three effective innings.
Efficiency is always a question mark for the veteran, who tends to rack up high pitch counts early in games. That has not been a major issue tonight, though, as Dempster has thrown 44 pitches through the first three frames and has faced just 12 total batters.
The Rockies went down in order in the third via strikeout (Dexter Fowler swinging), lineout (a great leaping snag by Dustin Pedroia to rob DJ LeMahieu) and flyout (a lazy fly to left field by Carlos Gonzalez).
End 2nd, Red Sox 5-1: Juan Nicasio got a pair of quick outs, but he could not shut the door on the Red Sox in the second.
After retiring Jose Iglesias on a popout and Jacoby Ellsbury on a groundout to third, Nicasio got ahead of Shane Victorino 1-2. Victorino fouled off a 94-mph fastball before roping the next pitch — this one a 96-mph heater — into the left-field corner for a double.
Dustin Pedroia then pounced on another fastball, hitting a double of his own to drive in Victorino for Boston’s third run. Pedroia has seen just five pitches over two at-bats tonight and now has a single, a double and two runs scored.
Yes, Pedroia came home in the second, as well. David Ortiz ripped a double — Boston’s third straight off Nicasio — off the wall in left-center field to score the second baseman.
The hit parade continued for another two batters, as Mike Napoli and Daniel Nava both singled — Napoli’s base hit scoring Ortiz from second — before Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out for the second time tonight to end the inning.
Mid 2nd, Red Sox 2-1: The Rockies got one back in the second, as Wilin Rosario hit a 3-1 pitch over everything in left field.
After snaring a Todd Helton line drive himself, Dempster gave Rosario a slider high and inside that the catcher pounced on, crushing it over the Sports Authority sign atop the Green Monster. It was the 12th homer of the year for the 24-year-old, who led all catchers with 28 long balls last year and finished fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
Corey Dickerson, himself a highly touted rookie this season, rifled a line drive that landed just barely in foul territory before grounding to Dustin Pedroia for the second out.
Nolan Arenado’s ensuing line drive was well fair, putting the third baseman on second with two outs. The Rockies could not bring him home, though, as No. 9 hitter Jonathan Herrera grounded out to Pedroia to close out the inning.
End 1st, Red Sox 2-0: In a game that has the potential to be a high-scoring affair, the Sox struck first.
Jacoby Ellsbury led off the inning with a double into the left-field corner of Juan Nicasio. The two-bagger marked the 16 hit in the last 10 games for Ellsbury, who, as you can glean from that stat line, has been on an absolute tear of late.
In the nine contests prior to tonight, the leadoff man went 15-for-38 (.395) to raise his average by 16 points from .273 to .298
Victorino then dropped a bunt in the same vicinity as the one DJ LeMahieu put down in the top of the inning. Third baseman Nolan Arenado was able to handle this one and retire Victorino at first, but the sacrifice was successful in moving Ellsbury to third.
Dustin Pedroia wasted little time before bringing the center fielder home, singling between the first and second baseman on the second pitch he saw to make it 1-0 Red Sox.
Nicasio then walked both David Ortiz and Mike Napoli to set up a bases-loaded situation for Daniel Nava, who responded by dropping a base hit out of the reach of left fielder Carlos Gonzalez to give the home team a two-run advantage.
The Sox would get no more, though, as Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out and Stephen Drew popped out in foul territory to end the inning.
Veteran Todd Helton is due up first for the Rockies.
Mid 1st, 0-0: The first two batters of the game reached against Ryan Dempster, but the right-hander needed just five pitches to retired Colorado’s two hottest hitters and end the threat.
Dexter Fowler opened the game by working a seven-pitch walk.
DJ LeMahieu then put men on first and second by dropping a bunt that Dempster, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jose Iglesias all converged on but did not make a play for.
Dempster then got Carlos Gonzalez, the current NL home run leader, to pop out to Iglesias at third base, though, and induced a 6-4-3 double play off the bat of cleanup hitter Michael Cuddyer to end things in the first.
The Red Sox will have their typical top of the order — Jacoby Ellsbury, Shane Victorino and Dustin Pedroia — up first in the home half of the frame.
7:12 p.m.: Dexter Fowler takes strike one from Ryan Dempster, and we are off and running on what is still a very hot and muggy night at Fenway Park.
The Rockies will send Fowler, DJ LeMahieu and Carlos Gonzalez to the plate in the first against the veteran right-hander.
5:30 p.m.: In addition to sending Will Middlebrooks to Triple-A, the Red Sox also moved catcher David Ross to the 60-day disabled list as he continues to deal with the aftereffects his second diagnosed concussion this season.
Also heading back to the DL is pitcher Franklin Morales, who aggravated an injury to his pectoral on Saturday in Detroit. In his place, the Sox activated reliever Pedro Beato, who pitched a pair of scoreless innings over two appearances for Boston last week.
5 p.m.: The hot corner is now officially Jose Iglesias’ position to lose.
The Red Sox announced Tuesday that Will Middlebrooks, who had been splitting time with Iglesias since returning from the disabled list, has been optioned to Pawtucket.
The team subsequently called up third baseman Brandon Snyder, but he is expected to be used only in a utility role, handing everyday third-base duties solely to Iglesias.
With Middlebrooks continuing to struggle at the plate and Iglesias showing no signs of slowing down, a roster move seemed inevitable. Manager John Farrell said the decision was finally made in order to give Middlebrooks consistent at-bats, which he was not getting while platooning with Iglesias.
He went 0-for-4 on Thursday in Detroit before sitting out the remainder of the four-game series. Iglesias started the final three games at third base, going 5-for-11 with a triple and two runs scored to improve his average to .426.
Farrell said in his pregame news conference that Snyder, who received news of his promotion around noon on Tuesday and was in uniform for warm-ups three hours later, will be used primarily as a corner infielder but can also suit up at shortstop, corner outfielder or catcher on an emergency basis. He’ll wear the No. 23 formerly worn by utility man Pedro Ciriaco, now with the Padres.
Here are the starting lineups for tonight:
Boston Red Sox (45-33)
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Shane Victorino, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Daniel Nava, LF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Stephen Drew, SS
Jose Iglesias, 3B
Ryan Dempster, RHP
Colorado Rockies (39-38)
Dexter Fowler, CF
DJ LeMahieu, 2B
Carlos Gonzalez, LF
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Todd Helton, 1B
Wilin Rosario, C
Corey Dickerson, DH
Nolan Arenado, 3B
Jonathan Herrera, SS
Juan Nicasio, RHP
8 a.m. ET: For the first time since the 2007 World Series, the Colorado Rockies will take the field at Fenway Park on Tuesday.
The Red Sox have met the Rockies just once since sweeping them to win their most recent championship — a three-game series at Coors Field in 2010 — and outside of two-time All-Star Troy Tulowitzki and longtime Minnesota Twin Michael Cuddyer, much of the Colorado roster will likely be unfamiliar to casual Red Sox fans.
The Fenway Faithful will not have a chance to see Tulowitzki, who is out with a broken rib, but they will become acquainted with Carlos Gonzalez, the other half of the Rockies’ formidable 3-4 punch in the middle of the order. Gonzalez leads the National League with 21 home runs and ranks fourth in RBIs with 57.
Starting for the Rockies on the mound will be 26-year-old Juan Nicasio (4-3, 4.78 ERA), who comes in searching for his first win since May 19. Boston counters with Ryan Dempster (4-8, 4.23 ERA). Dempster has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his last five starts but has picked up just two wins (2-3) over that span.
The action gets started at 7:10 p.m., but tune in to NESN’s pregame coverage beginning at 6 p.m. And, of course, be sure to check back here throughout the day for all your baseball news and notes leading up to first pitch.
