Marcelo Mayer's error dooms Red Sox in late-inning collapse against Rockies

After opening their West Coast trip by taking two of three from the Mariners, the Red Sox had a chance to leave Denver with another series win. Instead, they watched a late lead disappear and dropped the finale to the last-place Rockies, 8-6, on Wednesday afternoon.

The loss dropped Boston to 32-46 on the season and matched its low-water mark of 14 games under .500.

Boston carried a 6-3 advantage into the bottom of the seventh before everything unraveled.

With two outs and nobody on, Marcelo Mayer committed a costly error that kept the inning alive. The Rockies took full advantage, stringing together a rally that produced three runs to tie the game and seize all the momentum.

Colorado completed the comeback an inning later. Tyler Freeman’s sacrifice bunt pushed across the go-ahead run before Cole Carrigg followed with an RBI double to give the Rockies an 8-6 lead they would not relinquish.

Mayer’s costly error on what should have been the final out of the seventh inning opened the door for Colorado’s comeback. The 23-year-old, who wasn’t in the starting lineup because of a sore left foot, entered the game in the third after Caleb Durbin exited with a left pinky subluxation. With runners on first and second and two outs in the seventh, Mayer bobbled a routine ground ball off the bat of Hunter Goodman that would have ended the inning.

Instead, the miscue loaded the bases and gave the Rockies new life.

Colorado immediately capitalized, ripping three consecutive RBI single, two charged to Tyron Guerrero and one to Danny Coulombe, to erase a 6-3 deficit and tie the game.

The Red Sox struck first in the opening inning after Ceddanne Rafaela lofted a blooper into shallow right field that glanced off the second baseman’s glove. Initially ruled an error, the play was later changed to a triple, and Rafaela came around to score two batters later on Willson Contreras’ RBI double.

Boston extended its lead in the second when Connor Wong, serving as the designated hitter, snapped a lengthy home run drought. Wong launched a 380-foot, two-run shot to left field off a Kyle Freeland knuckle-curve, giving the Red Sox a 3-0 advantage. It was his first homer since Sept. 8, 2024, ending a 111-game drought.

Colorado answered with two runs in the bottom of the third against Ranger Suarez, piecing together several hits and productive outs before T.J. Rumfield delivered an RBI double. The inning also featured a bizarre sequence in right field, where Wilyer Abreu dropped a line drive off the bat of Carrigg but recovered in time to force out the trailing runner at second base.

The Red Sox regained momentum in the fourth. Andruw Monasterio led off the inning with a solo home run, and later, Rafaela added an RBI single to extend Boston’s lead. Rafaela finished 3-for-5 and fell just a home run shy of hitting for the cycle, though he also struck out twice.

The Rockies scratched out one more run against Suarez in the bottom of the fourth when Freeman delivered an RBI single, but that was the last damage the left-hander allowed.

Suarez finished with three runs allowed, only two earned, on seven hits and one walk across six innings while striking out nine. He generated 13 swings and misses, including seven with his curveball, and recorded his sixth quality start of the season.

Boston’s offense did its part early, scoring six runs on 11 hits against Rockies starter Freeland. But once Colorado turned to its bullpen, the bats went silent. The Red Sox were held hitless over the final three innings, going 0-for-9 with four strikeouts as Mayer’s costly error and the Rockies’ relentless offense erased what looked like a comfortable lead.

Mickey Moniak opened the eighth inning with a single off Justin Slaten and advanced to third on Willi Castro’s base hit. Freeman then laid down a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt to score the go-ahead run before Carrigg followed with an RBI double that extended the lead to 8-6.

Down to their final three outs, the Red Sox