Colorado Rockies-Boston Red Sox World Series: First inning set tone

It was 13 years ago tonight that the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies met in Game 1 of the 2007 World Series. The first inning of the contest, as it turns out, would be set the tone for the entire matchup.

When the Colorado Rockies took the field at Fenway Park on October 24, 2007, it had been nine days since the Rockies finished off a sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Championship Series to punch their ticket to the franchise’s first-ever appearance in the Fall Classic. That time off would show quickly for a team that entered the World Series having won 21 of its last 22 games.

Boston starter Josh Beckett needed just 15 pitches to strike out the side (Willy Taveras, Kazuo Matsui, and Matt Holliday) in the top of the first. Then, with Colorado starter Jeff Francis on the hill, Boston’s offense quickly flexed its muscles.

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Red Sox leadoff hitter Dustin Pedroia took the second pitch of the game from Francis off the top of the Green Monster for a solo home run and ignite the Fenway faithful. It would be part of a three-run first inning from Boston, with the Red Sox totaling five hits, including an RBI single from Manny Ramirez and a two-out RBI double from J.D. Drew.

After Todd Helton struck out to open the second, Colorado’s offense showed some signs of life, with Garrett Atkins hitting a double to left and Troy Tulowitzki’s two-out RBI double plating him to cut Boston’s lead to 3-1. However, that would be the only run the Rockies would score as Boston recorded a 13-1 drubbing to open the Series.

While a seven-run fifth inning would ice the victory for the Red Sox, the first inning set the tone for the entire series. Boston would hit .333 for the Series while Colorado mustered just a .218/.283/.346 slash line in the four games. The Rockies would also strike out against Boston pitching 36 times in 133 at-bats (27 percent).

To this day, many Rockies fans wonder what might have happened in the Series had Colorado not had an extended time between the finish of the NLCS and the start of the Fall Classic. As a reminder, Boston earned its spot in the World Series with an 11-2 win over the Cleveland Indians in Game 7 of the ALCS played on October 21 (three days before the start of the World Series).

Note: This is the first of a four-part series where we look back at key moments from each of the 2007 World Series games featuring the Rockies and Red Sox.