Ceddanne Rafaela hits 2 HRs, drives in 5 to help Red Sox beat Tigers 7-3
By MAUREEN MULLEN Associated Press
BOSTON - Ceddanne Rafaela homered twice for his first multi-homer game and drove in five runs, Tanner Houck had a solid start and the Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 7-3 on Friday night.
Houck (5-5) went seven innings, giving up one run on three hits and two walks with six strikeouts. The right-hander was hit in his pitching arm by Zach McKinstry's comebacker with one out in the fifth inning. Houck stayed with the play and threw out McKinstry at first base.
"He's one of the best pitchers in the big leagues," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "Every outing he's giving us a chance to win. I hope people start paying attention to what's going on. It's been fun to watch from our end and it feels like every outing it's like let's see what's going to happen tonight in a good way."
Rafaela fell two shy of his career high in RBIs set April 27 against the Chicago Cubs.
"This is a hard game and it's even harder at a young age," Houck said about Rafaela, who leads his team and all major league rookies with 33 RBIs. "He's 23 years old in the big leagues. You see the talent and you know it's there and all you can do is keep pushing him in the right direction and just trust that the talent's going to pay off. For him to have a game like tonight's, it's great. I'm sure it's a huge confidence boost for him. He's a good player and I'm excited to see where he can be one day."
Right-hander Kenta Maeda (2-2) went 4 2/3 innings for Detroit, giving up five runs on a season-high eight hits with two walks and a season-high six strikeouts.
"Getting out of it early was encouraging, but you give them too many shots at a big hit, it's bound to bite you," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. "For him, it was rough because of the damage that was done with the home runs and the extra base hits."
Boston scored four runs in the fourth inning. Rafael Devers led off with a double and scored on Dominic Smith's one-out double. After Vaughn Grissom singled, No. 9 hitter Rafaela hit a two-out homer over the Green Monster in left field, scoring Smith and Grissom.
"It's definitely frustrating to give up so many runs, especially in that inning," Maeda said through a team interpreter. "The first run, that one was tough, but for the runs to keep scoring after, that's less than ideal."
The Red Sox added a run in the next inning on doubles by Connor Wong and Rob Refsnyder, ending Maeda's outing with left-hander Joey Wentz entering.
After David Hamilton singled with one out in the sixth, Rafaela hit his seventh homer of the season, giving Boston a 7-1 lead.
Detroit opened the scoring when Riley Greene singled with one out in the first inning, stole second base and scored on Gio Urshela's two-out single.
Detroit's Colt Keith hit a two-out homer in the eighth off Greg Weissert.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Tigers: The injury to OF Kerry Carpenter, who was placed on the injured list Wednesday, was reclassified from lumbar spine inflammation to a lumbar spine stress fracture.
Red Sox: OF Tyler O'Neill, on the injured list since May 26 with right knee inflammation, received a cortisone shot Thursday and could return to the lineup Wednesday, his first day of eligibility. ... LF/DH Masataka Yoshida, on the IL since April 29 with a left thumb strain, began hitting off a tee on Thursday and could being taking live batting practice on Saturday. ... RHP Isaiah Campbell, on the IL since April 12 with right shoulder impingement, was expected to pitch two innings in a rehab assignment Saturday.
UP NEXT:
Tigers RHP Reese Olson (1-5, 1.92 ERA) was set to start Saturday against RHP Cooper Criswell (2-2, 3.96).