Fresh off avoiding a sweep in “the World Series for the two worst teams,” the Colorado Rockies are headed to the land of New England, with a Dunkin’ on every corner and the oldest major league ballpark still in use today. Here they will kick off a three-game series against the 46-45 Boston Red Sox, who are looking to capitalize on the series and gain footing in a tight American League East.
Notably, this is the first time former Rockies All-Star shortstop Trevor Story will play against his former team.
The left-handed Austin Gomber will be on the mound for the Rockies. His last time out he pitched a hard-fought five innings against the Houston Astros, holding them to just two earned runs despite giving up eight hits and walk. He had just one strikeout. Gomber has only made four starts since his return from the injured list. He’s struggled to get strikeouts and his fastball velocity is still noticeably low, averaging just 88.7 MPH.
On the bump for the boys from Boston is right-handed rookie Richard Fitts, who made his big league debut late last September. Fitts has made seven starts with Red Sox this season, very rarely going past three innings of work. He carries a 4.50 ERA and 22 strikeouts through 28 innings into this evening’s ballgame.
Fitts has an excellent chase rate of 34.2% and solid extension, but doesn’t tally many strikeouts. He uses a six pitch mix anchored by a four seam fastball that averages 95.6 MPH, a slider, a sweeper, a curveball, a sinker, and a changeup.
First Pitch: 5:10 p.m. MT
TV: Rockies.tv
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM, KNRV 1150 AM (Spanish)
Lineups: