BALTIMORE (AP) — Ceddanne Rafaela hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 3-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night.
After Keegan Akin (4-4) worked out of a jam in the eighth to preserve a one-run lead, the left-hander couldn’t contain Boston in the ninth.
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Jarren Duran led off with a single and Rafaela followed with a towering fly that cleared the wall in left-center.
An apparent miscommunication between Duran and Rafaela helped Baltimore take a 2-1 lead in the seventh. After Baltimore’s Dylan Beavers drew a two-out walk, Dylan Carlson hit a liner that landed at the base of the wall between the two Boston outfielders, each of whom appeared unsure who was going to try to make the catch.
Boston starter Brayan Bello allowed two runs, one earned, and five hits over 6 2/3 innings.
Greg Weissert (6-4) got the win, and Aroldis Chapman worked a perfect ninth for his 26th save and his 14th consecutive hitless appearance.
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Roman Anthony got Boston started with a shot to center off Dietrich Enns on the fifth pitch of the game. Two nights earlier, the rookie became the youngest player in Red Sox history (21 years, 104 days) to hit a leadoff homer.
Key moment
Rafaela came into the game with a .188 batting average since the All-Star break, but he put a game-winning swing on Akin’s 1-1 changeup in the ninth.
Key stat
Beavers has reached base in nine of his first 10 games in the majors. In those 10 games, he has scored eight runs, hit four doubles and collected four RBIs.
Up next
Boston goes for a four-game sweep Thursday when Garrett Crochet (14-5, 2.38 ERA) faces the Orioles and Cade Povich (2-7, 5.13 ERA).
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
