BALTIMORE (AP) — After finding himself in the middle of almost every significant play of the game, Ceddanne Rafaela concluded the night wearing a big smile in the middle of a jubilant Boston Red Sox clubhouse.
Rafaela failed to hold onto a blooper that provided Baltimore with its first run Wednesday night, then was in the middle of a misplay with fellow outfielder Jarren Duran that enabled the Orioles to take a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning.
Finally, with Boston three outs from defeat, it all turned around for Rafaela and the surging Red Sox.
After Duran hit a leadoff single in the ninth, Rafaela blasted a two-run homer to give Boston a 3-2 victory.
“Baseball is a beautiful game, right?” Rafaela said. “In baseball, you’ve got to keep going. If you don’t keep going and try to help your team, you’re not going to have this outcome.”
The Red Sox have had a lot of positive outcomes lately as they try to overtake first-place Toronto in the AL East. Boston has won six of seven and will seek to complete a four-game sweep of the skidding Orioles on Thursday afternoon.
Rafaela was the centerpiece of Boston’s latest victory. He nearly snagged that sinking liner in the second inning, but the ball popped out of the diving center fielder’s glove for a double.
In the seventh, Duran came from left field to chase a ball and converged with Rafaela. They looked at each other as the ball hit the base of the wall for an RBI double.
“It was a miscommunication,” Rafaela said. “I thought he had it, and he thought I had it. I’m pretty sure it won’t happen again.”
Fortunately for the Red Sox, that same duo teamed to produce the winning runs.
“I was just trying to get on base right there, like JD did,” Rafaela said. “We did a good job to let it go and fight for the win.”
Rafaela was batting .188 since the All-Star break before coming through with two hits, including his 15th homer.
“He was going through a hard time, but every time the team needs him he comes through,” Boston starter Brayan Bello said. “Tonight was an example of that.”
Rafaela said he was just trying to make contact on the pitch from Keegan Akin, but acknowledged that he was thinking about the long ball.
“To be honest with you, I kind of felt it,” he said. “I was really confident right there.”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
