Roman Anthony's 1st Fenway HR breaks ice in 9-3 Red Sox win over Rockies

Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald on Jul 7, 2025

Published in Baseball

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BOSTON — Colorado Rockies center fielder Brenton Doyle raced back, back, back, but the Fenway Faithful already knew what he was about to be forced to accept.

Roman Anthony’s first Fenway home run was long gone.

418 feet, at 106.4 mph, to be precise.

The Red Sox rookie’s second big-league blast, but first at the ballpark he finally gets to call home, landed among the jubilant fans nestled in the left-field corner of the bleachers.

Anthony’s homer headlined a night of wild firsts for the Red Sox. Starter Richard Fitts picked up his first big-league win. Batting in Rob Refsnyder’s place in the bottom of the seventh, Jarren Duran picked up his first-ever pinch-hit RBI.

When all was said and done, the Red Sox triumphed 9-3.

The Rockies may have arrived at Fenway with a 21-69 record, but they didn’t make things easy for their hosts. Left-hander Austin Gomber yielded five runs (four earned) on seven hits, but he largely had a handle on the Boston bats in his 4 3/4 innings. After giving up a three-spot in the second – though only two runs were earned, thanks to an error by third baseman Ryan McMahon – Gomber settled back in until two outs in the fifth, when Anthony stepped up to the plate.

One batter later – Refsnyder singled – Gomber’s night was over.

The mood in the ballpark quickly turned incredulous in the top of the sixth, when the Red Sox thought they’d escaped a jam, only to be ordered back onto the field by the umpires.

Only two ball clubs entered Monday with more than 65 errors this season, and they were the ones playing at Fenway that night.

Fitts got two quick outs to begin the inning, but his night came to an end when he gave up a single to left-fielder Mickey Moniak and a double to second baseman Thairo Estrada.

Batting against left-hander Chris Murphy, Michael Toglia hit into a fielder’s choice, and though Estrada was right in Nate Eaton’s path, the third baseman didn’t apply the tag.

After both managers took their turns speaking with the umpires, the inning restarted, with a run on the board for Colorado. McMahon’s RBI single plated another before Murphy struck out Brenton Doyle to end the frame for good. Moments later, a scoring change re-attributed the two runs to Fitts. Over 5 2/3 innings, he yielded three runs, two earned, on five hits, one walk and six strikeouts. He threw 91 pitches, 62 for strikes.

But to paraphrase the immortal words of "Annie Get Your Gun," anything the Red Sox could do, the Rockies could do better. Which in this case, meant giving up runs.

The Red Sox put the game out of reach in the bottom of the eighth on solo homers by Ceddanne Rafaela and Romy Gonzalez. It was Rafaela’s third game in a row with a home run. Gonzalez’s blast traveled 454 feet, making it not only the longest home run of his career, but tying Angels star Mike Trout for the longest homer at Fenway this season.

The Red Sox are 47-45, and have won four games in a row.

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