Eli Whitney | June 24, 2026
Warren Schaeffer has spent all season talking about using all 13 position players, about pinch-hitters who prepare for one big swing in a decisive spot. On Wednesday afternoon at Coors Field, his bench won him a ballgame.
Troy Johnson and Mickey Moniak each delivered pinch-hit singles in the middle of a late comeback, and the Rockies rallied from a three-run deficit over the final three innings to beat the Boston Red Sox 8-6, taking the rubber match of the series and closing out a 4-2 homestand.
Trailing 6-3 entering the seventh, Colorado scored three to tie it and two more in the eighth to pull ahead.
Johnston, batting for Braxton Fulford against a lefty, lined a game-tying RBI single to center in the seventh. An inning later, Moniak led off with a single, advanced to third on a single from Willi Castro, and eventually scored the go-ahead run on a safety squeeze from Tyler Freeman.
“Troy coming in , knowing they’re going to the left-hander, and getting a left-on-left knock there — it was absolutely huge,” Schaeffer said. “Mickey off the bench with another big hit, Freeman with the safety squeeze. That’s playing fundamental baseball when the game is on the line.”
Cole Carrigg was at the center of the rally. The rookie center fielder drove in three runs, extending his on-base streak to nine games.
His seventh-inning at-bat was the one that drew raves afterward: down quickly in the count against velocity north of 100, Carrigg fouled off pitch after pitch before sitting back on a changeup and poking a single the other way to keep the rally alive.
“After you go down two strikes pretty quick, it’s purely batting and trying to put something in play,” Carrigg said. “Try to make something happen, and it worked out.”
Schaeffer has spoken at length about Carrigg and TJ Rumfield as rookies who don’t shrink in the big moments, and he saw it again.
“That’s so hard to do — two outs, two strikes, a knock like that,” Schaeffer said. “The adjustability in his swing, you see it from TJ all the time, and Cole’s got it too. He’s not scared of anything.”
Carrigg also flashed the all-out style that’s become his signature, losing his helmet and leg guard while motoring to second on his eighth-inning double.
“I wasn’t aware that my leg guard and helmet flew off,” he said with a smile. “I was kind of confused when I saw the clubby running at me with my leg guard.”
Kyle Freeland had a rough afternoon on the mound, surrendering a season-high 11 hits and six runs over six innings, but he kept grinding long enough to keep the Rockies within reach.
“There were some mistakes left over the plate that they took advantage of,” Freeland said. “It was a fight, try to stay in the game as long as possible, eat six innings, keep the team in it.”
He pointed to one fundamental play that helped him escape the sixth: Kyle Karros holding a tag at third base to prevent a lead-off triple.
“That’s a big part of baseball now,” Freeland said. “Him being able to hold the tag there, getting a first out even through it was a triple — that was kind of big and helped shift momentum for me.”
Rumfield extended his career-best hitting streak to eight games, and Jake McCarthy stretched his to 13, the longest active streak on the team.
The win went to Antonio Senzatela, who tossed two scoreless innings in relief to improve to a remarkable 8-0 — the most wins by a Rockies reliever before the All-Star break in franchise history.
Jimmy Herget worked a perfect ninth for his second save.
“Senza kept the game right where it was,” Schaeffer said. “You can’t say enough good things about him this year. What he went through last year, and to come out the other end as one of the best relievers in baseball — it’s impressive.”
The Rockies improved to 32-49, matching the 2022 club’s record through 81 games, and have four of their seven series in June by leaning on the same formula.
“We’re trying to win every series that we play,” Carrigg said. “Winning a series is great, especially a close game, a late game like we did today. Just a testament to how good we really are.”
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