Rafaela leads Red Sox past Giants in first game vs. Devers

SAN FRANCISCO – Ceddanne Rafaela was glove-ready from the moment he made his Major League debut on Aug. 28, 2023.

The offense? That has been more a work in progress.

However, the wiry athlete appears to have taken the leap with his bat over the last three weeks.

Friday night’s performance was one of his best and most well-timed of the season. Rafaela came through with a rally-starting double, an RBI single and a towering solo homer to help lift his Red Sox to a 7-5 victory over the Giants at Oracle Park.

“When I have these types of days, it’s when I control the zone, and you see the difference,” Rafaela said.

He finished a triple shy of the cycle.

“Ceddanne had a great day,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “He controlled the strike zone, pulled the ball up in the air and it was one of his best games of the season."

Boston (40-37) is 10-2 since June 7 and 3-1 since the stunning Father’s Day trade of Rafael Devers.

With all eyes on how the Sox would fare in their first matchup with their erstwhile slugger Devers just five days after they traded him, Boston’s offense roared back from an early 3-0 deficit.

Rafaela led the attack not just with his bat, but when he made a nice leap against the wall in center to take a hit away from his close friend Devers in the bottom of the second.

The last few days have been bittersweet to Rafaela. Devers was his closest friend on the team. In that respect, Rafaela was happy to share the same field as Devers again on Friday.

“He’s like my big brother. I really looked up to him when I was coming up,” said Rafaela. “So it's always a pleasure for me to watch him play and watch him perform. I think, yeah, it was fun.”

And so, too, was it for Rafaela to take a hit away from Devers, who went 0-for-5.

“Yeah, I think it's baseball,” Rafaela said. “I think if he was in that position, he would do the same thing, because he's a gamer and he likes to win.”

For Rafaela, the surge started with a 3-for-5 performance in Milwaukee on May 28. In his last 71 at-bats, the 24-year-old has a slash line of .338/.373/.592 with three doubles, five homers and nine RBis.

“Similar to Trevor [Story], it started in Milwaukee,” said Cora. “We had a conversation with him about certain things that he could do better. His damage to the pull side and obviously at home hitting the ball in the air to right-center as a righty, that doesn't play. And he started pulling the ball in Milwaukee. And he's been outstanding.”

The issue for Rafaela at the plate has always been being too swing-happy. But he’s making strides, as evidenced by his current hot streak.

“We know he chases, we know he swings,” said Cora. “But I think compared to last year, at least in our numbers, we feel very comfortable where he’s at.”

To keep winning without Devers, the Red Sox will need as many hitters as possible to step up.

Rafaela was joined by Jarren Duran (2-for-5), Wilyer Abreu (2-for-4 in return from the injured list) and David Hamilton (2-for-4, two-run HR) in the multi-hit category on Friday. Roman Anthony, MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 prospect, came through with a game-tying RBI single in the fifth.

It was a satisfying result for the Red Sox on a night they matched up with their signature player of the last few seasons.

“It wasn’t surreal, just weird,” said Cora. “But like I said, as an organization, we made a decision, and he’s with the Giants. And like he said a few days ago, he has a job to do. We’ve got a job to do. We're going to face each other three times [this weekend]. If we face each other later on [in October], that's going to be surreal.”