Red Sox Wrap: Ceddanne Rafaela’s Offensive Surge Takes Down Tigers

The Red Sox continued their four-game set with the Detroit Tigers with a 7-3 win on Friday night at Fenway Park.

With the win, the Red Sox improved to 29-29, while the Tigers fell to 28-29.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
After sitting out the series opener, Ceddanne Rafaela returned to the lineup and propelled the Red Sox with two home runs in the game.

Rafaela launched his first home run over the Green Monster with Dominic Smith and Vaughn Grissom on base for a three-run shot.

In his next at-bat, Rafaela sent a zinger 375 feet to left center for his second home run of the game with David Hamilton on base.

Batting ninth in the lineup, Rafaela went 2-for-4 from the plate with five RBI.

The Tigers took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but the Red Sox came storming back with a four-hit, four-run fourth inning to take the lead. Detroit rallied with two runs in the eighth inning, but Boston’s bullpen held on for the win.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Rafaela’s two home runs lifted the Red Sox past the Tigers. He leads MLB rookies with 33 RBI on the season.

— Tanner Houck gave up one run on three hits in seven innings. He threw 68.4% of his pitches for strikes (65-of-95 pitches) and struck out six Detroit batters he faced.

— Smith went 2-for-3 from the dish with one RBI and one run scored.

ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox will continue their four-game series with the Tigers on Saturday. The first pitch from Fenway Park is slated for 4:10 p.m. ET, and you watch the game on NESN, following an hour of pregame coverage.