Denver, CO
Sam Hilliard’s clutch homer, Ezequiel Tovar’s walk-off send Rockies to win over Red Sox in 12 innings
The Rockies won as a visitor in their own ballpark on Monday at Fenway Park West.
In front of a pro-Boston gathering of 35,261 at Coors Field, Colorado outlasted the Red Sox 9-8 in 12 innings to claim the series opener. LoDo rising star Ezequiel Tovar roped the walk-off single to improve the Rockies to 6-4 in extras this year and send the red-clad crowd streaming toward the exits.
“There were a lot of Sox fans there, and at times, it felt like an away game,” Sam Hilliard said. “But we were resilient tonight… Guys coming out of the bullpen are doing a great job right now, making big pitches, and we had a pass-the-baton mentality.
“… We’re not going to lie down (in the second half). We feel like we can compete and beat anybody, and I think we’re been showing that a little bit lately by playing spoiler or whatever you want to call it.”
Prior to Tovar’s hit that lifted Colorado to its seventh walk-off win this year, the Rockies blew two leads and staged a comeback of their own to tie the game in the 10th on Hilliard’s two-run homer in a dramatic interleague affair.
“It was a great game, and a good win,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “It was going to be a tough loss for whoever lost that one, but our guys endured.”
After a couple of quiet innings to open the game, Colorado jumped out to a significant lead in the third.
In that frame, rookie Aaron Schunk’s rollover grounder down the third base line hit the bag, resulting in an infield single and jump-starting a big inning. Charlie Blackmon followed with a two-run homer to right on a hanging slider by Tanner Houck.
Tovar then had a swinging bunt. And after Brenton Doyle’s RBI double and Michael Toglia’s RBI single added two more runs, the first-time All-Star Houck was down 4-0.
“We took advantage of some balls up in the zone,” Black said.
But the four-run lead, and Austin Gomber’s cruise control, couldn’t hold.
The Red Sox broke through with four runs of their own in the fifth, tying the game with a pair of two-out swings. Jamie Westbrook’s three-run homer was the backbreaker, then All-Star Game MVP Jarren Duran blasted a triple and Rob Refsnyder’s single through the left side tied the game.
Gomber finished with four earned on six hits through 5 2/3, with one walk and five strikeouts. The southpaw said his final stat line didn’t accurately reflect how comfortable he felt on the mound and his recent positive trajectory.
“I made one bad pitch and gave up a three-run homer, but that’s the best I’ve thrown the ball since 2021,” Gomber said. “I haven’t had that good of stuff in three-plus years. It sucks to make a mistake on the homer, but if I can take that (stuff) every five days, I’ll be fine. The past couple weeks is the livest my arm’s felt in a couple years.”
The Rockies re-took the lead in the seventh following a decidedly Red Sox rendition of Take Me Out To The Ballgame. Brendan Rodgers singled against Josh Winckowski, then Jacob Stallings’ two-out double down the right field line scored Rodgers to make it 5-4.
Boston didn’t waste time squaring the score back up, as Connor Wong led off the eighth with an arching homer to right off southpaw Jalen Beeks that just cleared the out-of-town scoreboard. That energized the pro-Boston crowd on hand, but the Red Sox failed to grab the lead with further traffic when Beeks induced an inning-ending double play.
The Red Sox appeared to have the final say with two runs off Victor Vodnik in the 10th, thanks to Dominic Smith’s leadoff RBI double to score the California runner and then Rafael Devers’ sacrifice fly a couple of batters later. But Hilliard came through with a two-run dinger in the bottom of the inning off right-hander Zack Kelly. Hilliard’s hit sailed 450 feet into the Boston bullpen to tie the game 7-7.
“I went up there looking for a changeup, which is the pitch I hit out,” Hilliard said. “My swing probably got a little too big at first. On 0-1, he pretty much threw the same pitch but a little bit lower, more into the loop of my swing. Before that, I was telling myself to shorten up and not do too much. I was able to put the barrel on it and it went, so it’s good to see an adjustment pay off like that mid at-bat.”
Justin Lawrence worked out of a jam in the 11th, getting a double-play ball and then inducing another groundout to end the inning. But the Rockies left runners on second and third in the bottom of the inning as right-hander Greg Weissert stymied them. At the conclusion of the frame, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was ejected for arguing with home plate umpire Mark Wegner.
“Lawrence’s fastball was crispy tonight (topping out at 97.1 mph), and a little hotter than what we saw prior to the All-Star break,” Black said. “He also had a couple good breaking balls.”
Boston re-took the lead in the 12th via a two-out RBI single off Lawrence by Wilyer Abreu. In the bottom of the inning, Jake Cave scored Rodgers on a single that turned into a double on an error by Tyler O’Neil in left field. Then, an intentional walk to Stallings, a sacrifice bunt by Hilliard and an intentional walk to Schunk set up Tovar’s walk-off single off ex-Rockie Chase Anderson.
Tovar missed Sunday’s series finale against the Giants due to illness, and was still sick on Monday as he returned to the lineup to deliver his third career walk-off hit.
“That was a little Michael Jordan flu game for Tovar tonight to get the game-winning knock,” Hilliard said. “He had (three) knocks on the night and you could just tell he was grinding.”
Tuesday’s pitching matchup
Rockies LHP Ty Blach (3-5, 5.46 ERA) vs. Red Sox TBA
6:40 p.m. Tuesday, Coors Field
TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM
After German Marquez landed on the injured list on Monday with right elbow inflammation, Blach likely gets the nod in his 10th start of the season. Blach got hit around in his last start, when the Dodgers tagged him for five runs on 10 hits with three homers in a loss at Coors Field on June 20. He also hasn’t been very good in relief lately, with a 8.31 ERA in three June outings. Unfamiliarity will be on the southpaw’s side as he makes just his second career start against Boston, and only three current Red Sox have faced him.
Pitching probables
Wednesday: Rockies RHP Cal Quantrill (6-7, 4.15) vs. Red Sox TBA, 1:10 p.m.
Thursday: Off
Friday: Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (2-3, 5.63) at Giants TBA, 8:15 p.m.
Want more Rockies news? Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis.
Originally Published:
Factors such as declining birth rates and families moving out of the city are contributing to declining enrollment at Denver Public Schools. In turn, it’s reshaping the district’s future.
“I think we’re in a good position, but it’s responsible for us to always be looking in the future and knowing we have to make some adjustments,” said Chuck Carpenter, the district’s CFO.
In a two-year span between this past school year and next, DPS expects a decline in enrollment of around 1,700 students.
“We haven’t really seen anything like this,” said Carpenter in response to the consistent decline.
Because of this trend, the district is facing a $28 million structural deficit over the next five years.
“We have a balanced budget now, and we’re not predicting that we’ll have an unbalanced budget in three years,” said Carpenter. “We’re saying we need to make adjustments over the next three, four years, so that our budgets are balanced.”
DPS’s Director of Campus Planning, Andrew Huber, told CBS Colorado in an interview last month that those adjustments will likely include closing down more schools.
“Additional school closures will be necessary in the upcoming years. When exactly that would be is hard to forecast right now,” said Huber.
The district’s CFO says his biggest takeaway from a recent round of closures is to make sure to give families options for what’s next.
“No one wants their school closed, but the second-best option isn’t going to be the same for every family,” said Carpenter.
This issue could be one Denver faces for years to come.
“We sort of say, how many kids are born here? Because in five years, those kids will be kindergartners,” Carpenter added.
The city’s birth rate peaked in 2005, meaning those babies have already graduated high school. And, according to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, more young families move out of Denver and into surrounding counties than move into the city.
“I think school consolidation is very — I understand why people want to talk about it, but I think it’s more about, like, how do we make sure that the programs that are offered are rich programs,” said Carpenter.
Carpenter also says the district is closely monitoring some potential cuts to federal grants for students of poverty and language learners. He says those decisions will be made by October for the start of the new fiscal year, and cuts would have a “terrible” impact.
The Denver Broncos hosted eight tryout players at mandatory minicamp this week, including quarterback Sawyer Robertson. It sounds like the team has made decisions on those tryout players, and Robertson won’t be signed (at least not right now).
Instead, the Broncos are signing offensive lineman Reid Holskey (according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler) and cornerback Blake Cotton (according to the Denver Post‘s Parker Gabriel). Holskey (6-6, 306 pounds) spent time on the Houston Texans’ practice squad in 2025 before joining the New York Giants in January. He was cut by New York last month. Cotton (6-2, 195 pounds) is a rookie who spent last fall at Utah, totaling 30 tackles and seven pass breakups in 13 games.
The two moves came one day after Denver wrapped up minicamp. The 91-man offseason roster was already full, so the Broncos will need to make corresponding moves to make room for Holskey and Cotton on the roster.
Social: Follow Broncos Wire on Facebook and Twitter/X! Did you know: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.
Sean Payton has seen enough. The Denver Broncos’ third practice of mandatory minicamp, which was set to happen on Thursday, has been canceled.
“Just schedule-wise, today will be our last day,” Payton said after Wednesday’s practice. “I just finished telling them that. It’s unusual because there’s a lot of packing, a little bit more than normal when you’re moving into another facility. So when we’re back here, we’ll be in the new building.”
The Broncos are moving into their new state-of-the-art facility, but the decision to cancel the final practice of the offseason was motivated primarily by what Payton has seen thus far and how the team is shaping up.
Thus concludes the Broncos’ offseason training program, which featured eight total practices as a team, four of which were open to the media. There was more on-field activity than that, including walkthrough practices unseen by the press, but in essence, we’re talking about eight sessions.
Some players have already begun to separate themselves in their respective competitions. Others have really popped, while some have failed to really stand out in any meaningful way.
By way of a Broncos stock report, let’s get to the biggest winners and losers of mandatory minicamp.
Winner: Bo Nix | QB
Nix finally returned to the practice field on Tuesday, the first day of minicamp. He was limited to individual drills only, but it was still great to see him out there.
On Day 2, though, Nix took another big step forward, participating in a 7-on-7 drill that included a highlight-reel touchdown pass to RJ Harvey. Just getting Nix back on the field was a big win for the Broncos, but seeing him progress over two days and look overall very sharp was more than a little encouraging.
Winner: Jaylen Waddle | WR
Waddle has been a lightning rod since the practices were opened to the media. He just looks different. That speed and explosiveness really add an element to the Broncos’ offense that has been lacking.
It’s been palpable. But arguably just as exciting is what Waddle’s teammates and coaches have been saying about him. Payton has called him a “force multiplier,” which is another way of saying that he makes everyone around him better.
Not that we really had reason to doubt it, but Waddle has been as advertised thus far, and then some.
Loser: Marvin Mims Jr. | WR
Mims is not listed as a loser because of any specific negative plays, like a dropped pass or a mental miscue. It’s just that, with other receivers, including Waddle, shining, generating buzz, and earning plaudits from Payton, Mims didn’t really.
Mims is a similar receiver type as Waddle, but the newcomer made it clear how much separation exists between them in practice. Now, Mims is still important to the Broncos, especially as a returner, and Payton did compliment his clutch gene and contributions in big games, but you have to wonder how he fits into the game plan on offense. That question still hasn’t been answered.
Winner: J.K. Dobbins | RB
Dobbins was his usually talkative self at minicamp, but the fact that he was healthy and out there doing his thing is a major win for the Broncos. It’s good to have him part of the daily process at Broncos HQ again because he’s one of those veterans that takes players under his wing, and elevates them.
Winner: Que Robinson | OLB
With the recent off-the-field drama the Broncos have dealt with, some extra attention was paid to the Broncos’ outside linebackers. Robinson, in particular, separated himself during minicamp.
His get-off is something else, and he was dispruptive during the Broncos’ team periods. Vance Joseph has said he views Robinson as a “future starter.” Pending Cooper’s situation, the future could be now, though Elliss will also have something to say about that.
Robinson had one heck of an offseason. I’m really looking forward to his second year.
Loser: Jonathon Cooper | OLB
After being arrested twice in the span of a week, the Broncos excused Cooper from mandatory minicamp. It would seem the Broncos want to create some distance from Cooper until his legal troubles are resolved, one way or another.
It’s a shame, in more ways than one. Beyond what legal ramifications might await Cooper, he’s very likely to be suspended by the NFL, and the Broncos releasing him at some point is not outside the bounds of the plausible. It’s a good thing that rush linebacker room is stacked.
Winner: Matt Henningsen | DL
None of these winners has been quite as surprising as Henningsen. He made a huge play on Day 1 of minicamp, tipping a Sam Ehlinger pass and returning it to the house.
Henningsen followed that up with another disruptive Day 2. He’s gone from being an after thought in the Broncos’ defensive line conversation to establishing himself as a bona fide threat for the roster.
Loser: Jahdae Barron | CB
Like Mims, Barron wasn’t bad during the offseason; he just didn’t pop, really, in any way. He broke up one pass on Day 2 of minicamp, but beyond that, there wasn’t much to see.
It will be interesting to see how Barron performs in training camp. We know the Broncos have high expectations for him, and a role on defense, even if as a depth piece, will be created for him, but I was hoping to see more signs of a Year-2 leap by now.
Winner: Jonah Coleman | RB
Another as-advertised player. Coleman has proven he’s ready for the NFL, which was partly what attracted the Broncos to him in the draft.
Coleman stood out in a major way at minicamp and made it clear that the Broncos have more than just a J.K. Dobbins insurance policy on their hands. Coleman is a force to be reckoned with.
Winner: Tyler Onyedim | DL
Like Coleman the Broncos’ first pick in the 2026 draft has looked NFL-ready. The Broncos still haven’t signed Onyedim, but that didn’t stop him from participating in the offseason program, which is a good harbinger.
Rocking the No. 98 jersey, it’s easy to mistake Onyedim for the guy he was drafted to replace: John Franklin-Myers. That’s especially true when the rookie is out there making plays like JFM. Onyedim has earned praise from his teammates, including the All-Pro Zach Allen.
Winner: Evan Engram | TE
Engram looked very good in minicamp this week. He looked like a big, athletic, smooth, explosive receiver, which is what he’s been in the NFL.
Engram wasn’t really all those things in his first year with the Broncos, but I’m hopeful that Year 2 will be different for the two-time Pro Bowler. He’s had a good summer.
Winner: Troy Franklin | WR
Franklin seems like the obvious No. 3 receiver in the pecking order. That doesn’t mean he’ll get the No. 3 snaps on an exclusive basis, though.
As the Broncos’ No. 2 last year, Franklin wasn’t able to fully live up to that, although he took some big steps forward in his second year. As the No. 3, it’s more his natural spot and that should allow him to continue to thrive in the offense, especially with the connection he has with Bo Nix dating back to Oregon.
Winner: Sam Ehlinger | QB
Ehlinger had a great offseason. He looked way more comfortable and far sharper in the offense in what is his second go-around in Payton’s offense.
Ehlinger was sharp this summer, and if he can continue to build on the foundation he’s created, it could create some uncomfortable conversations at Broncos HQ.
Loser: Jarrett Stidham | QB
Stidham has been less noteworthy this summer, but that doesn’t mean he’s been bad. In comparison to Ehlinger, though, Stidham wasn’t as good, which is curious, considering his standing as the team’s primary backup since 2023.
If Ehlinger ends up leapfrogging Stidham, what do the Broncos do? They’re holding a competition for QB2, and they have to be prepared for the possibility of Ehlinger winning it, especially after his strong summer.
If Ehlinger forces this issue, Stidham could become expendable. Stidham is very unlikely to be a cut candidate because of his contract, but as a trade piece? There’s a reason the rumor mill has been active on the Stidham topic this offseason. It’s something to watch.
Sign up for our free Denver Broncos On SI newsletter, and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
-
Vermont6 minutes agoNorman Rockwell finally gets his day in new Shelburne Museum exhibit
-
Virginia9 minutes agoMotorcoach failed to slow for traffic in Virginia work zone before crash that killed 5 from Western Mass., NTSB says – The Boston Globe
-
Washington14 minutes agoStorm Team4 Forecast: Much-needed morning rain before sunny afternoon
-
Wisconsin21 minutes agoThese Wisconsin swing voters say Trump’s war in Iran wasn’t worth it
-
West Virginia24 minutes agoDelays expected during traffic shift on US 119 for bridge work
-
Wyoming29 minutes agoJune 18 recap: Wyoming news you may have missed today
-
Crypto36 minutes agoEl Salvador Adds to Bitcoin Reserve Again as Daily Buys Push Stack Past 7,680 BTC
-
Finance39 minutes agoLUMIQ Raises Strategic Funding to Become the AI Decision Layer for Financial Services
