Gomber gives Rox much-needed length at Fenway

BOSTON -- Unable to pull off a sweep at Fenway Park, the Rockies -- who dropped a 6-3 decision to the Red Sox on a rain-delayed Wednesday night -- at least rested many of their bullpen pieces thanks to a solid outing from left-handed starter Austin Gomber.

Gomber went six strong innings and started the seventh with a 2-1 lead. Two ground-ball singles later and his night was over.

Lefty Brent Suter, part of the plus-side relief crew that has been stretched by a busy slate of games that eventually will reach 33 in 34 days, was victimized when right fielder Nolan Jones lost a soft liner in the lights and watched helplessly as Rob Refsnyder ended up with a go-ahead two-run triple.

The Rockies left Fenway deep into the night -- after sitting out a rain delay of two hours and two minutes -- having taken two out of three in the series. They head to Atlanta with most of their key relievers having a day to recoup. If two out of three ain’t bad for the club, then a decent outing will have to be good enough for Gomber.

After four straight solid outings, three of them quality starts, in late April and early May, Gomber didn’t reach six innings in any of his next five turns.

“For me, personally, I felt like I needed a good one,” Gomber said. “And the situation we’re in now, we’re a little light down there in the bullpen.”

The bullpen could receive more of a break Thursday night, when Kyle Freeland starts against the Braves. Freeland has generally given the Rockies length and effectiveness, but the offense hasn’t given him runs (3.08 runs of support this season, three runs total while in the game in his last five starts).

On Wednesday, Gomber labored for much of the first inning and fell behind on Alex Verdugo’s one-out RBI single. But his slider arrived when facing the next hitter, Adam Duvall, and between his four-pitch mix and some outstanding defense, he reached six innings for the first time since going 6 2/3 frames in a May 12 home loss to the Phillies.

“He pitched great -- one run into the seventh inning on a night when we really needed the length,” said manager Bud Black, who had Dinelson Lamet -- scheduled to start Friday against the Braves -- available in the bullpen. Gomber pitching as long as he did meant Lamet merely had to throw his touch-and-feel bullpen session.

Gomber also had a perfect place to enjoy the night’s biggest defensive play -- rookie Brenton Doyle’s diving catch of Pablo Reyes’ third-inning leadoff drive just left of center field.

Gomber placed both hands on his head and marveled. The play helped prevent the Red Sox from gaining traction and allowed the Rockies to hold close until they pushed across two runs in the sixth on Ezequiel Tovar’s sacrifice fly and Ryan McMahon’s RBI double off Red Sox surging starter Garrett Whitlock, who struck out a season-high seven.

Gomber’s outing ended after grass-cutting singles from Kiké Hernández and Triston Casas to begin a five-run seventh for the Red Sox, but he wasn’t going to complain about luck.

“They hit some balls really good, with the Doyle play and the next batter [Refsnyder], with the shift he hit a line drive right up the middle and we made a play,” Gomber said. “I had my fair share of good fortune.

“Our bullpen is tired. They’ve been great all year. We’re just trying to get a little bit deeper and give our guys a little bit of a blow. So we’re excited to get to Atlanta.”