The Red Sox closed out their homestand with a 5-0 victory over the Rangers on Thursday afternoon at Fenway Park.
Rafael Devers, who contributed with his bat and his legs on the base paths, helped Boston win two of three against Texas and move back above .500 (20-19).
Devers had an RBI single to center field in the fifth inning to give the Sox a 3-0 lead. Once he was on first, he then channeled his inner Jarren Duran and swiped second base. It was his first stolen base since Sept. 14, 2024, after he was intentionally walked by Yankees ace Gerrit Cole.
Raffy in the Wally Head > pic.twitter.com/jIsNpt6vbd
— Red Sox (@RedSox) May 8, 2025
The left-handed slugger added a 370-foot solo blast in the seventh in the Green Monster Seats, putting the Sox on top 5-0.
Devers had reached base in 11 of his last 12 games beginning April 26 and is batting .383 with a 1.025 OPS over that span with four doubles, four homers, 11 RBI, eight runs, and eight walks.
“He’s in a comfort zone,” said Alex Cora. “He’s not chasing pitches. … If we can continue to do this, it’s going to be very dangerous.”
BELLO INCONSISTENT
Brayan Bello worked his shortest outing since making his regular-season debut last month.
The righty went just 4 2/3 frames, walking five and giving up four hits while holding the Rangers scoreless in his outing. Only 44 of his 83 pitches were thrown for strikes, and he struck out just one batter. Bello has posted a 2.01 ERA through his first four starts, which is his best start over his four outings of a season in his career.
“A few pitches that weren’t executed the way I wanted, but I was able to get out of those,” Bello said via a team translator.
“A lot of traffic, gave us enough, and the bullpen did an awesome job,” Cora added following the game.
The Red Sox improved to 4-0 in Bello’s starts this season and 23-10 since the start of last year.
BULLPEN IN CHARGE
The topic of the Red Sox bullpen has been contentious to start the season. The bullpen has blown eight saves to lead the league with the Phillies, including three blown leads last week.
The Sox’ bullpen picked up Bello, beginning with Justin Slaten, who replaced Bello with two runners on base with two outs in the fifth inning. He retired Rangers slugger Adolis García on a groundout to second base to end the inning. He then pitched a perfect sixth inning.
Garrett Whitlock worked a scoreless seventh, striking out two batters.
Liam Hendriks worked two scoreless innings, the first time he’s worked at least two innings in an outing since July 25, 2021.
“It was good to see him out there and keep getting better, I think that’s the most important thing,” Cora said of Hendriks. “The goal was for him to be able to perform, now it’s to be able to do that over and over and over again. We know he can do it. The stuff is getting better, he’s been efficient, the use of the pitches has been great, and little by little, he’s gaining momentum.”
In the ninth inning, Ceddanne Rafaela made a highlight catch by crashing against the wall in the triangle, robbing Josh Jung of extra bases.
That's a beauty, Ceddanne! pic.twitter.com/qwTy9t8bRB
— Red Sox (@RedSox) May 8, 2025
“It all started with being prepared,” Rafaela said in an on-field interview with NESN following the game. “I was prepared for that pitch there, and I always say I give it all for my pitchers.”
BOSTON OFFENSE CONTRIBUTES
The Red Sox took a 2-0 lead in the second inning after Trevor Story led off with a single, which broke his 0-for-9 slump. Carlos Narváez and Rafaela (2-for-2) walked to load the bases. Story then scored on a wild pitch by Jack Leiter. Narváez scored when Duran grounded out to second base, making it 2-0.
Duran advanced Rafaela from second to third in the bottom of the fifth after the athletic outfielder led the inning off with a double. Rafaela recorded his eighth multi-hit game this season and third in his last four games.
Devers made it 3-0 with his RBI single to center field. Narváez (1-for-3) added an RBI single in the sixth to make it 4-0.
Story improved to a perfect 8-for-8 on stolen base attempts this season in the sixth inning and 13-for-his-last-14 dating back to Sept. 9, 2024.
KANSAS CITY UP NEXT
The Sox will begin a six-game road trip Friday in Kansas City on Friday night. Hunter Dobbins (2-1, 3.78 ERA) will start for Boston opposite Royals righty Michael Lorenzen (3-3, 4.23 ERA). The Red Sox will play three games against the Royals over the weekend and then play three games against the Tigers starting on Monday.