Very quietly, Ceddanne Rafaela has given the Red Sox plenty of production out of the No. 9 spot in their order so far in June. He was loud with his contributions Tuesday night.
Rafaela had three hits — including the game-winning single off tough reliever Chad Green in the eighth — as the Red Sox came from behind to beat the Blue Jays, 4-3, and extend their winning streak to four. After entering the eighth down a run, Boston tied things up when Tyler O’Neill homered for the third time in two days, then took the lead when Rafaela smoked a single off the shortstop’s glove and allowed pinch-runner David Hamilton to score. With the win, the Sox improved to 39-35.
Ceddanne Rafaela has had an excellent June — and he provided the drama for the Red Sox on Tuesday
Rafaela’s strong showing (3-for-4) continued a June in which he had hit .351 with an .822 OPS, entering Tuesday. On a night when the Red Sox had trouble getting much going offensively against Chris Bassitt and Toronto’s relievers, his final hit was the difference.
Tanner Houck was good — but not great — for the Red Sox, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits in 5 ⅔ innings. Houck, who entered with a 2.08 ERA in 14 starts, was a tick off from the start, as evidenced by the leadoff double he allowed to Davis Schneider in the first. Pitching with a 1-0 lead after Dom Smith plated the game’s first run with an RBI single off Bassitt in the second, Houck got himself in trouble in the bottom of the inning when Justin Turner and rookie Addison Barger led off with back-to-back singles. Houck struck out the next two batters but failed to escape the jam; Ernie Clement laced a two-run double to the right-center gap to give the Jays a 2-1 lead.
The Sox failed to get much going against Bassitt until the sixth, when Rafael Devers smoked a one-out double, then scored the tying run on a two-out Masataka Yoshida single through the middle of the field. Houck labored through the sixth, when Daulton Varsho reached on an error before Houck walked Turner. With two outs, Isiah Kiner-Falefa found green grass with a softly hit bleeder down the right field line that scored Turner and made it 3-2.
That lead didn’t last very long. Facing lefty Brendon Little, O’Neill laced a 408-foot blast to dead center to tie the game. Two outs and a pitching change later, Hamilton — held out of the lineup because of side discomfort — ran in place of Smith and immediately stole second without inducing a throw from Toronto catcher Alejandro Kirk. Rafaela’s liner to short scored Hamilton easily.
With the lead in hand, three Sox relievers — lefty Brennan Bernardino and righties Justin Slaten and Kenley Jansen — preserved the win. Jansen’s third save in four days brought him to 13 on the season.
The Red Sox will send struggling righty Brayan Bello (6-4, 5.00 ERA), who holds a 6.44 ERA in seven starts since coming off the injured list in mid-May, to the mound for Wednesday’s series finale. The Blue Jays will start perennial Cy Young contender Kevin Gausman (5-5, 4.08 ERA). First pitch is at 7:07 p.m. ET as the Sox look for a sweep (and their third straight series win).
The Sox will then have Thursday off before heading to Cincinnati for a three-game series against the Reds.
