For the 10th year, the Red Sox celebrated pride, including a drag performance from Lilly Rose Valor before first pitch.
Fenway Park looked a bit more colorful Tuesday night, as the Red Sox celebrated Pride night at the ballpark for the 10th year.
The organization said members of Boston's LGBTQ+ community would be involved in ceremonies and pregame entertainment before the 7:10 p.m. Red Sox-Rockies game, including the New Hampshire Gay Men’s Chorus who performed the National Anthem.
Celebrity DJ and Peloton instructor Jess King threw the ceremonial first pitch, prior to which she hosted a block party in the Big Concourse where there was a drag performance by entertainer Lilly Rose Valore.
“For my whole life, as a Black trans woman I’ve always fought for rights so sometimes you don’t always see change happen right away so when you do see change happen it feels really good. So I’ll be going home very happy tonight,” Boston native Valore said.
Valore's friend Harlow Havoc DJ'd a Pride party on the Sam Deck that was open to all ticketed fans attending the game.
DJ Harlow Havoc will host a pre-game Pride Party on the Sam Deck that is open to all ticketed fans attending the game.
“The fact that I’m able to feel like my authentic self and do something that I love and bring my community out, my local queer community, it really does mean the world to me,” Havoc said.
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Pride night also means the world to LGBTQ+ employees of the Red Sox organization like Michael Lara.
“The goal post is here and I’m always like how do we shoot above that?" Lara said. "This absolutely exceeded my expectations!"
As the club's diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging manager, Lara wants to strengthen the relationship between sports and the LGBTQ+ community.
“It matters. It matters in sports. There are gay folks that are playing at all different levels of sports and for us to be able to celebrate the rich diversity of the community is the best experience I could ever have," he said.
Members of the Massachusetts and New Hampshire Chapters of Free Mom Hugs, a national organization that works to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community, also offered “mom hugs” on the concourse, the Red Sox said.
Red Sox jerseys with the Intersex Progress Pride flag were seen throughout Fenway, and the club was flying the Pride flag at the ballpark throughout the day.
In recognition of Pride Month, the organization said it made a donation to Boston Proud in support of their programmatic efforts including this year’s Chandler Street Block Party.
The Red Sox have hosted Pride Night at Fenway Park since 2013 and say it's part of the club’s ongoing effort to make Fenway Park an inclusive environment open to all fans.
On the field Tuesday, things were less cheerful as the Red Sox lost the game in extra innings and dropped to 33-35, last in the AL East.
Randal Grichuk lined a two-run double in a three-run 10th inning and Colorado held on to beat Boston 7-6, giving the Rockies their second straight win at Fenway Park.
Boston, extended to extra innings in three straight games for the first time since June 25-28, 2000, went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base.
"We've just got to play well. That's it," Boston manager Alex Cora said. “Two extra-inning games — it's kind of like a flip of a coin, right? A man at second with no outs and you go throw from there. Obviously, yesterday we didn't play well. Today, we played OK. We played better. We didn't pitch the way we've been pitching lately.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report
