In a season marked by brutal losses, including one commentator Dave O'Brien likened to undergoing a "root canal with no painkiller," the Boston Red Sox hit a new low on June 22.
The Colorado Rockies, who entered the game with the fewest wins in MLB, mounted a three-run comeback in the ninth inning. After a mostly-dull night with just four hits, the Rockies strung eight-straight hits together between the eighth and ninth inning to bury the Red Sox, 3-2, at the last minute.
It took the Rockies so long to put Boston under because Jake Bennett made the start of his life at Coors Field. The rookie went six, scoreless, four-hit innings and fanned a career-high nine batters while his team's bats floundered behind him. Bennett has posted a 3.71 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 22 strikeouts and five walks over 26.2 innings this season.
Boston's offense was so poor and its meltdown so severe in Denver that Bennett's performance has gone unheralded. He gave the Red Sox everything they needed to win but their offense remained severely underwhelming, even against the pitiful Rockies — the Sox were held to just five hits compared to Colorado's 12, they left seven men on base and went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Jake Bennett deserved better than Red Sox's walk off defeat by Rockies after career night
The Ks keep coming. pic.twitter.com/BKq2BKli4Z
— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 23, 2026
Bennett has been something of an unsung hero for Boston this year, if anyone on the 2026 squad can be considered a hero at all. He's made five spot starts for the Red Sox and gone at least five innings in each of them. Unfortunately, the Sox have won just one of the games he's started, his May 1 Boston debut against the Houston Astros.
The Red Sox traded for Bennett over the offseason from the Washington Nationals and he's been another the savvy pitching addition for which Craig Breslow has become famous. Boston imagined it had plenty of pitching depth going into the season, but with Johan Oviedo and Garrett Crochet on the injured list, Patrick Sandoval and Kutter Crawford still rehabbing after over a year, and Brayan Bello having some serious yips, Bennett has saved the rotation from some sticky situations.
The pitcher the Sox traded for Bennett, Luis Perales, has been solid, but not perfect in Triple-A this year. He's logged a 3.99 ERA with some spotty command, reflected in a 1.27 WHIP and 27 walks compared to 41 strikeouts over 49.2 innings. Bennett has proven he's big-league ready while Perales still needs some time to improve.
Bennett deserved better after his offense and bullpen destroyed the career-best night he had against the Rockies. A performance like his should be the story of a game as opposed to a sidebar following a brutal, soul-crushing, season-killing walk-off defeat.
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