Boston Red Sox
Rafaela hit a homer in Friday’s game, too.
The Boston Red Sox are hot, and so is Ceddanne Rafaela.
The center fielder’s bat remained sizzling on Saturday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers when he hit back-to-back home runs in his first two at-bats of the contest.
Rafaela’s first homer came in the second total at-bat of the contest in the top of the first inning to give the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead. The 25-year-old clubbed a 389-foot solo shot to left-center field off a Yoshinobu Yamamoto splitter that failed to split, the dominant hurler’s first pitch of the at-bat.
Watch his first homer here:
Rafaela’s second bomb knotted the game at two runs apiece in the third inning. It came shortly after Dodgers OF Teoscar Hernandez gave L.A. a 2-1 lead with a two-run home run of his own off Payton Tolle in the second frame.
The second homer of the game for Rafaela was a 402-foot solo shot to left-center once again, this time off a better Yamamoto splitter in a 1-2 count.
Watch his game-tying, second dinger of the game:
Not only did Rafaela slug two long balls on Saturday, but he also hit one the night before on Friday.
That homer was exceptionally clutch — a two-run, go-ahead shot to give Boston a 5-4 lead in the seventh frame.
In other words, Rafaela entered the series with 11 home runs on the season. He reached the 14 mark in just the third inning of the second game.
Rafaela seems to love hitting at Dodger Stadium, but these three at-bats are simply an extension of his impressive breakout year at the plate. He’s long been known for his defensive prowess, particularly in the outfield, but he’s become a weapon at the top of the lineup after plenty of ABs in the nine hole early in his MLB career.
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