Red Sox Notes: Boston Avoids Sweep In Rollercoaster Matinee

The Red Sox and Angels just played one of the stranger games you’ll see all season.

Wednesday’s contest gave shades of the slugfest against the New York Yankees in London in 2019. This time, the Red Sox came out on top with a walk-off 11-9 win to avoid the sweep against the Los Angeles Angels.

Neither starting pitcher had anything going in the afternoon contest. Lucas Giolito put Boston in a hole with just 1 2/3 innings of work while Angels righty Jose Soriano labored through 3 2/3 innings. Both starters allowed seven earned runs in the eventual Red Sox win.

The teams combined for 20 runs and 24 hits in the contest, though the Red Sox continued to answer with four lead changes throughout the course of the contest. Ceddanne Rafaela ultimately delivered the one-of-a-kind walk-off swing with a 94 mph fly ball that just snuck around the Pesky Pole at 308 feet for the win, the shortest Red Sox home run at Fenway Park in the Statcast era.

“Usually when they hit it down the line, everybody screams Pesky,” Cora told reporters, per NESN’s postgame coverage. “Sometimes you’re begging for one. You can’t tell if it’s fair or foul. They saw the call and went nuts.”

“When I hit it, I knew I hit it good,” Rafaela told NESN’s Jahmai Webster. “I was just hoping it would stay fair.”

There’s still a long way to go for this Red Sox team. They still lost the series and still sit four games under .500. Boston gets another crack at prolonging momentum this weekend when it goes against the kings of the division in the New York Yankees.

“To say we needed this one was an understatement,” Cora said. “A lot of close games and they go the other way. I’m tired of telling Ramon (Vazquez) in the eighth (inning), ‘Man, here we go again.’ It’s the same game. The same script. Hopefully we can change it.”

The Red Sox and Angels produced plenty more news and notes on Wednesday:

— Red Sox first base coach José David Flores and Angels pitcher Tyler Anderson got into a kerfuffle prior to first pitch, arguing with each other during batting practice to a point where players from both sides got involved.

Tokyo Sports Press’ Carlos Yamazaki provided video of the incident.

— Rafaela homered for the third consecutive game.

— Boston improved to 11-9 in series finales in 2025.

— The Red Sox will go on a quick road trip starting Friday, as they begin a three-game series against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. NESN will have full coverage starting one hour before first pitch, which is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET.