Red Sox’ ninth-inning collapse further proves they’re not built to win this season

The Red Sox may have suffered their most painful loss of the season Monday night, watching the Rockies string together eight consecutive hits off Boston’s two most trusted relievers to steal a 3-2 walk-off win at Coors Field.

Boston carried a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth behind six scoreless innings from rookie Jake Bennett, who struck out a career-high nine batters. Tyron Guerrero bridged the gap with a dominant seventh inning, touching 101 mph and making quick work of Colorado’s lineup.

Once the game went into the eighth inning, the Rockies looked like a completely different team. 

Garrett Whitlock and All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman combined to allow eight straight hits over the final two innings, with Chapman surrendering four consecutive knocks in the ninth, including Jake McCarthy’s game-ending, bases-clearing triple.

It was an especially stunning collapse considering the Red Sox had been nearly automatic when protecting late leads, entering the night with a 31-1 record when leading after eight innings.

“(Losing a late-inning lead) doesn’t happen to us very often. It hasn’t happened all year,” Chad Tracy said to reporters postgame. “Whether (a loss) happens late in the ninth or earlier in the game, they all sting. They all sting. It doesn’t sting any worse.”

You could almost see the collapse coming in the eighth inning.

Whitlock allowed four straight hits, and only a pair of outstanding defensive plays kept the Rockies off the scoreboard.

The inning started innocently enough, as pinch-hitter Troy Johnston lined out to first on Whitlock’s fifth pitch. From there, Colorado put together a relentless attack. Edouard Julien singled to center, Mickey Moniak followed with a single to right, and Willi Castro ripped another base hit to center that appeared destined to load the bases.

Instead, the Rockies got overly aggressive.

Third base coach Andy González waved Julien home, but Ceddanne Rafaela charged the ball and unleashed a perfect throw to Connor Wong, who applied the tag to cut down the runner at the plate for the inning’s second out.

The Red Sox caught another break one batter later. Tyler Freeman lined a first-pitch sinker into right field, but Wilyer Abreu came up firing. Seeing Abreu’s arm, Moniak slammed on the brakes at third, while Castro got caught in no-man’s land between second and third. Wong threw behind him to second, where Castro was tagged out to end the inning and preserve Boston’s 2-0 lead.

At the time, it looked like the Red Sox had escaped disaster. 

Believe it or not, Whitlock was credited with a hold despite allowing four straight hits in the eighth inning. It was the first time all season he had given up more than two hits in an inning, and the first time since 1990 that the Red Sox allowed four or more hits in a single inning without surrendering a run.

At the time, it looked like Boston had dodged a bullet. Instead, the Rockies carried that momentum into the ninth and used it to crack one of the best closers in baseball.

Chapman needed just four pitches to allow singles to TJ Rumfield and Hunter Goodman, immediately putting the tying runs on base. Rookie Cole Carrigg then dropped down a bunt toward third. Caleb Durbin charged, fielded it cleanly and looked to have a play at second, but Andruw Monasterio was late covering the bag after Willson Contreras crashed in from first. Durbin had to double-clutch his throw, and Carrigg beat it out by half a step to load the bases.

With nowhere to put McCarthy, Chapman started him with a 99 mph sinker that was fouled away. On the very next pitch, McCarthy lined a 99.6 mph sinker down the left-field line. The ball caromed awkwardly off the wall, and Jarren Duran struggled to play the bounce cleanly, allowing all three runners to score as McCarthy raced into third with a stunning walk-off triple that completed Colorado’s comeback.

“In the moment of truth, the ball went to the (left field) corner,” said Chapman, “and you saw what happened.”

McCarthy wound up with a game-winning triple, it was his second career walk-off hit and was only the sixth when trailing by two runs since the Divisional Era. 

“That was surreal. It still hasn’t sunk in,” said McCarthy said after the game. “Off a great pitcher like that, it all happened pretty fast.”

The other players who recorded walk-off triples when trailing by two runs over that span were Grady Sizemore (2006), Juan Beniquez (1987), Dave Collins (1980), Manny Mota (1971), and Joe Torre (1971). 

The Rockies became the first team since 1961 with hits in each of their final eight plate appearance of a game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. 

It was Chapman’s first blown save since July 23, 2025, and it came in Boston’s 45th loss of the season, tying the franchise record for the most defeats before July, a mark previously set in 1996 and matched in 2014.

The rough stretch has also taken a toll on Chapman’s numbers. After Monday’s meltdown, his ERA ballooned from 0.44 to 2.08 over his last two appearances, a remarkable jump for a reliever who had been nearly untouchable for the majority of the season.

“That stuff is in the past,” Chapman said of his save streak coming to an end. “It is what it is. (I) didn’t get the job done tonight. My job is to come through. Now, we just turn the page and look forward to the next game.”

To make matters worse, the Red Sox are now