Ceddanne Rafaela recorded his first career multi-homer game and drove in five as the host Boston Red Sox pulled away from the Detroit Tigers for a 7-3 win on Friday.
David Hamilton went 3-for-4 while Dominic Smith and Connor Wong each had two hits as the Red Sox finished with 12 hits.
Tanner Houck (5-5) gave up one run on three hits with six strikeouts and two walks in seven innings. He lowered his ERA to 1.85.
Riley Greene went 2-for-4 with a double, and Colt Keith hit a two-run home run for the Tigers.
Detroit jumped out to a first-inning lead. Greene lined a one-out single to center, stole second and scored on Gio Urshela’s single to right.
Houck quickly settled in after that, retiring six straight batters and working around Greene’s two-out double in the third.
The Red Sox broke through against Kenta Maeda (2-2) in the fourth. Rafael Devers started the rally with a leadoff double to center before scoring the tying run on Smith’s double into the left field corner. Rafaela hit a three-run homer to left later in the inning to give Boston a 4-1 lead.
In the fifth, Rob Refsnyder increased the lead to 5-1 on his two-out double that plated Wong, who reached on a double.
Rafaela’s second homer of the game — and seventh of the season — pushed the lead to 7-1. David Hamilton reached on a one-out infield single, stole second and came around to score on Rafaela’s blast to left-center.
Keith hit a two-run shot in the eighth inning off Boston reliever Greg Weissert to trim Detroit’s deficit to 7-3.
Maeda allowed eight hits and five runs in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked two.
–Field Level Media
The Toronto Blue Jays non-tendered two-time All-Star closer Jordan Romano on Friday, making the right-hander a free agent. Romano, 31, first reached the majors in 2019 with the Blue Jays…
The Kansas City Royals dealt right-handed starting pitcher Brady Singer to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for second baseman Jonathan India and outfielder Joey Wiemer on Friday. The Reds moved…
Alyssa Nakken, the first full-time female coach in major league history, is departing the San Francisco Giants for a player development role with the Cleveland Guardians. The Guardians haven’t announced…
Royals land 2B Jonathan India, send Brady Singer to Reds
Alyssa Nakken, first female coach, departs Giants for Guardians
Dodgers agree to one-year deal with RHP Dustin May
St. Petersburg council approves, then rejects Tropicana Field repairs