Ceddanne

Rafaela

Rafaela went deep in his first two at-bats to join Eric Haase as the only players to hit two homers off Yoshinobu Yamamoto in one game. He had two more hard-hit balls afterwards, but they both turned into outs. It was Rafaela’s second career two-homer game. He’s 11-for-26 with four homers, 10 RBI and two steals in his last six games.

Rafaela’s homer gave the Red Sox a 5-4 lead in the seventh, and the team added three more runs afterwards in the frame. Along with his 12th homer, Rafaela collected his 15th steal tonight, adding to his chances of notching a 20/20 season. He’s been Boston’s best player with his .286/.326/.456 line and his spectacular defense in center field.

Rafaela thought he just missed on the slam, spiking his bat on the fly to left. Colby Thomas really should have made the catch, but he didn’t time the play very well and had the ball go off his glove as he jumped at the wall. Rafaela had hit .355 in 32 career plate appearances with the bases loaded, but this was his first slam, and it put the Red Sox in position to claim a 10th straight road victory. Rafaela, who was dropped to fifth in Boston’s lineup with new arrival Curtis Mead hitting second tonight, is batting .278/.320/.442 in 414 plate appearances.

Rafaela has an even better case for an All-Star spot this year than he did last year, when he didn’t really warm up offensively until June, but since his Gold Glove defense in center just isn’t given enough weight, he’s still looking to be selected for the first time. Maybe he’ll get in as a replacement for Aaron Judge or Byron Buxton. He’s hitting .284/.332/.441, so it’s not all about defense.

The hits came in his first three at-bats. He had two at-bats left to complete the cycle, but he struck out in both. One can’t help but think those at-bats might have gone better if hitting for the cycle wasn’t actually a thing. Rafaela is batting .286/.334/.451 on the year.

Nate Eaton is playing center field in his place. Rafaela, the Red Sox’s best player to date this season, is hitting .323/.333/.516 in June.

Rafaela is back in center field and hitting second after being scratched from Sunday’s contest with lower back soreness. He winds up just missing one game due to the minor ailment.

He sustained the injury while attempting to make a diving catch in the outfield. It’s not believed to be a major issue, but Red Sox’ skipper Chad Tracy wanted to utilize Monday’s off day to get him off his feet for a couple of days. Expect him to return to action on Tuesday.

No word yet on the reason for the late scratch, but Connor Wong will enter the lineup as the designated hitter to replace Rafaela. Expect the Red Sox to provide an update on his status shortly.

Rafaela tallied three singles in his first three at-bats on the night and drove in two runners in the fourth inning to put the Red Sox up 4-0. Rafaela has swung a hot bat as of late, hitting safely in four-straight games while slashing .310/.370/.512 on the month and swiping four bags. He remains a key bat for a Red Sox lineup that has scored five or more runs in four of its last five games.