Ceddanne Rafaela made his long-awaited return to the Red Sox lineup last night, and for a glorious few moments, he looked like the missing spark Boston desperately needed. After three weeks away battling a quadriceps injury, Rafaela wasted no time announcing his comeback, finding himself face down on the Fenway Park bluegrass just three pitches into the game with a ball clutched firmly in his glove. He then recorded the next two outs and followed up by leading off the second inning with a single that bounced off the bottom of the scoreboard in left field. What a return, right? It was a much needed jolt to a lineup that’s been swinging in the dark all month.
Rafaela’s Rollercoaster Return Ends Too Soon
That roaring return was, tragically, short-lived. Rafaela started tugging at his hamstring as he rounded first on that second-inning single, staying in the game only to exit at the start of the third. Sure, there was probably some caution involved in pulling him from the game. If it was *that* bad, he wouldn’t have stayed in at all, would he? You try to be optimistic, especially on a night when Sonny Gray was dealing, asserting his mastery on the mound once again. But seeing your most clutch hitter, back for mere innings, limping off again after weeks out? That’s just brutal. This team absolutely needs a healthy, productive Ceddanne Rafaela, and they need him now.
Twelve Singles and Zero Runs, Until…
The Boston lineup, despite Gray’s stellar performance, continued to struggle, big time. They actually collected 12 hits last night. Twelve! But every single one of them was just a single. Every. Single. One. They just could not bring runners home. Adley Rutschman failed to bring in two runners in the first. Jahmai Jones’ lefty-bashing powers were neutralized after the first two batters reached in the third. Then Jarren Duran, stepping in for the injured Rafaela, struck out with the bases loaded three batters later. Wilyer Abreu and Adley Rutschman teamed up to squander a two-on, one-out situation in the fifth. This lineup is seriously struggling to score runs, and you have to wonder how they pull out of this without healthy versions of both Ceddanne Rafaela and Willson Contreras.
They did finally break through in the sixth, though, when Jarren Duran legged out a run from second on an Andruw Monasterio single to left. That was a great show of Duran’s best asset: his baserunning abandon. He even added a steal in the ninth, clinching what is almost certainly the worst statistical 20-20 season of all time. But then, in a classic Duran move, he somehow failed to score from third on a ground ball. So, the Red Sox won the game 1-0, which is great, but the way they got there? Rafaela’s injury, the constant struggle to score, and the ongoing need for healthy bats leave a lot to look forward to, and not all of it good. They just need to find a way to get those runners across the plate.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Over the Monster.
Leave a Reply