Red Sox rally, then rally again for 11-9 win over Angels on Rafaela's walk-off homer
BOSTON — Ceddanne Rafaela curled a home run around the Pesky Pole in the bottom of the ninth inning on Wednesday and the Boston Red Sox rallied after trailing four different times to beat the Los Angeles Angels 11-9.
The Angels blew 4-0, 7-5, 8-7 and 9-8 leads, with Rafael Devers bouncing a chopper between the gloves of second baseman Chris Taylor and shortstop Zach Neto behind second base to tie it 9-9 in the eighth.
Each of the first three times the Red Sox scored, Los Angeles answered with runs of its own. But after walking Mike Trout to lead off the ninth, Cooper Criswell (1-0) got the next three batters out to give Boston a chance to walk it off.
In the bottom half, Abraham Toro singled with one out and Rafaela hit a 308-foot liner over the short wall that goes from the foul pole toward the bullpens in right.
Taylor Ward had four RBIs for the Angels, who were going for the three-game sweep.
Before recording his first out, Red Sox starter Lucas Giolito allowed four runs on two doubles, two singles and a homer. Then Angels starter José Soriano gave up four singles and two walks to make it 4-3 before striking out Rafaela on his 25th pitch of the inning.
David Hamilton's two-run double with one out gave Boston a 5-4 lead.
Combined, the starting pitchers, allowed 14 runs in 5 1/3 innings.
The Angels are off Thursday, with RHP Kyle Hendricks (2-6, 5.34 ERA) slated to start the opener of a three-game series against Seattle on Friday night. The Red Sox are off Thursday before starting a three-game series in New York against the Yankees.
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USA Today
33 minutes ago
- USA Today
Seth Hernandez wins Gatorade National Player of the Year, ready for MLB draft day
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39 minutes ago
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39 minutes ago
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By 2019, he was the organization's top pitching prospect, behind only Jo Adell on the overall leaderboard. There was hope he'd be a legit ace-level pitcher. Instead, it was a half-dozen years of injuries and ineffectiveness. Culminating in his worst season, and a career inflection point. Now, Canning is that ace-level starter on the best team in the National League. He's a pending free agent, and if he continues to pitch well, he will command a haul on the open market. New York is a different animal from Anaheim. It's a younger and more lively crowd, Canning said, with a great knowledge of the game. But it also invites a ton of pressure — a demand for success that isn't matched anywhere else. The good news for Canning is that he's satisfied and exceeded every expectation. To save his career and be a critical piece of what the Mets hope is a historic season. 'They thought they could bring me in and see some success,' Canning said. 'I think it's a testament to the culture. A big aspect of it is being on more of a winning team. Not playing for yourself as much, but playing for the 25 other guys, has been helpful for me in particular.' The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya contributed reporting to this story. (Top Photo: Harry How / Getty Images)
