Alex Cora Identifies Unsung Hero In Red Sox Victory Over Orioles

Ceddanne Rafaela had the biggest swing in the Boston Red Sox’s 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles when he hit a two-run home run to reclaim the lead in the ninth inning.

Had the game ended another way, Rafaela might have taken some of the blame for the loss. In the second inning, he dove for a ball and looked to have it secure, only for it to pop out of his glove. Later in the game, Rafaela and Jarren Duran didn’t communicate on a fly ball, allowing it to hit the grass and drive in a run.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora wasn’t willing to give Rafaela all the credit for the win, though. He said it was bench coach Ramon Vazquez who was the reason behind the win.

“Ramon Vazquez actually won the game today,” Cora said. “On our way to the hotel yesterday, we were talking about the bullpen game and all that, trying to split up the lefties, and how we’re gonna do it. Thinking that they were gonna bring the righty right away, he said, ‘Let’s hit Rafaela fifth.’ They have a lefty on the mound, he faces Jarren, he gets a hit, and Ceddanne gets to face a lefty and hits it out of the ballpark. So, I tip my hat to him.”

Rafaela was between Duran and Nathaniel Lowe in the lineup. Masataka Yoshida was behind Lowe, so the Orioles elected to leave lefty Keegan Akin in the game to face Rafaela in the ninth inning after Duran recorded a hit to lead off the inning. The lineup construction, configured by Vazquez, worked in the Red Sox’s favor. Cora didn’t hesitate to go with Vazquez’s idea, either.

“Let’s go. I trust him. We’ve been together since 1996. He knows me, he knows how I operate,” Cora said.

Of course, it was a total team effort. Brayan Bello turned in another great outing. Roman Anthony led off the game with a home run. The bullpen kept the Orioles off the board for the final 2 1/3 innings.

The Red Sox will go for a four-game sweep on Thursday afternoon with Garrett Crochet on the mound.