For the first two months of the season Ceddanne Rafaela was struggling at the plate, hitting an even .200 but ownership and Alex Cora said to be patient. Well the patience paid off in tonight's game against the Detroit Tigers. Rafaela smacked two home runs and drove in five total runs. On the other side of the ball, Tanner Houck (5-5, 1.85 ERA) pitched a hell of a game, going seven innings and holding the Tigers to a single run. Rob Refsnyder and Dominic Smith also drove in runs as the Sox made it back to .500 with a 7-3 victory over the Tigers at Fenway Park.
Houck got the ball in the top of the first inning and immediately Vaughn Grissom made a jumping catch to rob Wenceel Perez of a base hit. Riley Greene got a base hit to center before stealing second on the Matt Vierling swinging strikeout. It looked like Greene was thrown out at home on the base hit by Gio Urshela but Tigers manager AJ Hinch challenged the call. Sure enough, Greene was ruled safe on the replay. Colt Keith took strike three to end the inning with the Tigers ahead 1-0.
Maeda got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Jarren Duran walked to start. Wilyer Abreu banged into a double play but Connor Wong got a base hit to right. Rafael Devers popped up to third to end the inning.
Akil Baddoo grounded out to second to start the top of the second inning before Andy Ibanez struck out swinging. Zach McKinstry lined out to center to end the inning. Rob Refsnyder grounded out to third to start the bottom of the second before Dominic Smith walked. Grissom struck out swinging but David Hamilton got a base hit to center. Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning to kill yet another rally.
Carson Kelly grounded back to the mound to start the top of the third before Perez lined out to left. Greene doubled to right but Vierling flied out to right to end the inning. Duran popped up to third to start the bottom of the third before Abreu struck out swinging. Wong also struck out swinging to end the inning.
Urshela popped up to second to start the top of the fourth before Keith grounded back to the mound. Baddoo popped up to short to end the inning. Suddenly the Sox rallied in the bottom of the fourth as Devers doubled to center to start. Refsnyder flied out to center but Smith doubled to left to score Devers to tie the game. Grissom got a base hit to right to put runners at the corners but Hamilton struck out swinging. Somehow Rafaela clobbered his sixth home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Duran grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.
Ibanez popped up to first to start the top of the fifth before McKinstry lined back to Houck. Kelly grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fifth as Abreu flied out to right to start. Wong doubled to left and a wild pitch moved him to third, but Devers struck out swinging. Refsnyder doubled to left to score Wong and chase Maeda from the game. Joey Wentz came in to pitch to Smith and Dominic grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-1.
Perez took strike three to start the top of the sixth but Greene walked. Devers threw a grounder by Vierling away for an error to move Greense to third but Urshela flied out to center. Keith lined out to right to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the sixth although Grissom took strike three to start. Hamilton singled just past Wentz and promptly stole second. Rafaela then belted his second home run of the day to put the game out of reach. Duran lined out to left and Abreu grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-1.
Houck returned for one final inning in the top of the seventh and Baddoo struck out swinging to start. Hamilton threw a ball away hit by Ibanez for an error but McKinstry took strike three. Kelly walked but Perez grounded out to short to end the inning. Houck was dominant, holding the Tigers to 1 run off 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out six batters.
Mason Englert came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Wong was plunked to start. Devers flied out to left and Refsnyder took strike three, but Smith got a base hit to right to move Wong to third. Grissom lined out to right to end the inning,
Greg Weissert came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Greene struck out swinging to start. Vierling got a base hit to left but Urshela flied out to left. Keith then hit a home run all the way to Nogales, Mexico to cut the lead. Baddoo grounded out to first to end the inning with the Tigers down 7-3.
Tigers get some runs back
Hamilton got a base hit to right to start the bottom of the eighth but was thrown out at second trying to steal. Rafaela grounded out to third and Duran grounded out to short to end the inning.
Justin Slaten came in to close out the top of the ninth and Ibanez popped up to second to start. Rafaela made a great diving catch to rob McKinstry of a base hit, but Kelly singled to left. Perez doubled to left to move Kelly to third but Greene struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 7-3.
Sox win
Hero Rafaela
Dominic Smith was 2 for 3 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
David Hamilton was 3 for 4 with a run scored and a stolen base.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout and an error but scored a run.
Hero of The Night is Ceddanne Rafaela. He drove in five runs including two home runs to pace the offense.
The Good:
Connor Wong was 2 for 3 with a hit by pitch and a run scored.
Dominic Smith was 2 for 3 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
David Hamilton was 3 for 4 with a run scored and a stolen base.
Tanner Houck got the win by tossing 7 innings of 1 run ball. He allowed 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out six.
Justin Slaten pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Greg Weissert allowed 2 runs in the eighth inning.
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran was 0 for 4 but walked.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout and an error but scored a run.
Rob Refsnyder was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Vaughn Grissom was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
That was a hell of a coming out party by Rafaela with two home runs, 5 rbis and a diving catch. Tanner Houck had one of the best starts of the season but it got overshadowed by the brilliance of Rafaela. Kudos to Dom Smith and Connor Wong who both went 2 for 3 as well. Hamilton went 3 for 4 and he's starting to get on base more. More times on base means more chances to run. He'll get caught a few times like he did in this game but that comes with the territory. With Tyler O'Neill out again and Masataka Yoshida, Triston Casas and Trevor Story all gone the offense has to come from somewhere. Maybe playing small ball could be the way to go until they get some guys back. All in all this was a good team win and it comes at a good time because the Sox can't afford to fall further back of the New York Yankees or else the season will be over in a few weeks. The win improved the Sox to 29-29, 10.5 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox play the rubber game of this series tomorrow afternoon against the Tigers when Cooper Criswell (2-2) gets the start against Reese Olson of Detroit. The game begins at 4:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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