Ceddanne Rafaela clutch ninth inning go-ahead homer rallies Red Sox over Orioles 3-2

Ceddanne Rafaela is a wizard in center field; his range, glove, and defensive instincts are elite, and he is a future Gold Glove winner. There’s another part of his game where he comes up in the clutch, showcasing some sneaky pop in his bat.

That version of Rafaela reared its head on Wednesday night as he belted a two-run home run in the ninth inning, leading the Red Sox past the Orioles, 3-2, at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

With the Sox facing the prospect of dropping a crucial game to the lowly O’s, Rafaela demolished a changeup left over the plate from Keegan Akin, and he sent it 392 feet at 102.1 mph off his bat over the left field wall.

“I was going deep,” Rafaela told NESN’s Jahmai Webster postgame. “(I) wanted to help the team and finally came through. I feel great right now.”

The ninth-inning blast was Rafaela’s third go-ahead home run in the ninth inning or later in the season. That ties Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers), Nick Kurtz (Athletics), and William Contreras (Brewers), the Sox announced.

Boston is now a season-high 14 games above. 500 (74-60), winners of six of their last seven games on this road trip, and could sweep the Orioles in four games on Thursday afternoon with their ace Garrett Crochet on the mound.

“It was a good one, especially those two (Rafaela and Duran) helping us win,” Alex Cora told reporters in Baltimore after the game. “There was some miscommunication, I guess, on that ball in left center, and to get the hit against the lefty and then Ceddanne getting that pitch to hit and hitting it out of the ballpark, it was cool to see.”

Rafaela’s heroics in the ninth were set up by Jarren Duran, who singled to open the frame, avenging a miscue in the outfield a few innings earlier. In the seventh inning, Sox’ starter Brayan Bello issued a walk to rookie Dylan Beavers while looking to cap off an excellent outing.

Following the walk, Dylan Carlson crushed a fly ball to deep left-center, and at one point, it looked like Duran had a play, but as Rafaela came sprinting from center field to also try and make a play, both he and Duran allowed the ball to fall between the two of them, and it eventually was wedged under the padding of the wall. Beavers scored from first and gave the Orioles the lead.

“We had a miscommunication there, but we kept it going, and we did it, us two, in the ninth,” Rafaela said.

Outside of Rafaela’s homer, the Red Sox’ offense was silenced by the Orioles’ pitching. Rookie Roman Anthony hit his second career leadoff home run, smoking a 95.2 mph fastball from O’s opener Dietrich Enns, sending it 416 feet, and the Sox were up 1-0.

David Hamilton continues to swing a hot bat on this road trip, lining a single into right field in the eighth inning to put runners on the corners with no outs. The speedy infielder is 8-for-18 with a homer, double, triple, and two walks on the road trip. Hamilton continues to make the most of his opportunities with the Sox, proving to be a valuable depth piece.

Bello was dialed in on Wednesday night; coming off his last outing, where he dazzled against the Yankees in the Bronx, he went 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) with a walk and six strikeouts. It was Bello’s third consecutive quality start and his 15th of the season (23 starts).

The Orioles tied the game in the second inning after Colby Mayo delivered a two-out single. Baltimore also got quality innings from Roansy Contreras, whose contract Baltimore selected from Triple-A Norfolk earlier on Wednesday. While in the minors, he posted a 3.73 ERA in 28 games. It was the first time that the righty pitched in a big league game since Sept. 29, 2024.

Jeremiah Jackson extended his hitting streak to seven games with a one-out double in the first inning off Bello but was eventually stranded. He’s collected a hit in 12 consecutive starts and 14 of 15. Jackson reached on a Trevor Story error to lead off the sixth inning. The O’s weren’t able to capitalize; Bello forced Gunnar Henderson to ground out, and then he struck out Ryan Mountcastle and Colton Bowser.

Aroldis Chapman took the mound in the ninth inning and dominated, converting his 26th save of the year.

Cora offered praise for his All-Star closer, who continues to dominate in the ninth inning for Boston.

“I played with Eric Gagne and saw how dominant he was, the save streak; he’s very close,” Cora said. “Throwing strikes, not walking people, punching people out—the guy is tremendous.”

Boston will look to sweep Baltimore on Thursday afternoon when Crochet (14-5, 2.38 ERA) looks for his 15th win. He will face Orioles’ Cade Povich (2.7, 5.13 ERA) with the first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m.

ROSTER MOVES

The Red Sox will make four roster moves ahead of Thursday’s series finale with the Orioles.

Right-handed reliever Justin Slaten (shoulder) and outfielder Rob Refsnyder (oblique) will be activated off the injured list, according to MassLive’s Chris Smith.

Nathaniel Lowe will be placed on paternity leave, and the Sox will option left-handed reliever Jovani Morán back to Triple-A Worcester.

Slaten has been sidelined for the last 76 games with what was initially described as “right shoulder inflammation.” It was later learned that his transverse process/bone was pressing and pinching against nerves and blood vessels, causing the soreness.

The addition of Slaten gives Cora another key reliever for the later innings. Prior to his injury, he posted a 3.47 ERA with four holds and three saves and held opposing hitters to a .171 batting average in 24 games.

Refsnyder was batting .272 with an .827 OPS before going on the injured list. The lefty masher is hitting .287/.384/.521/.905 line in 112 plate appearances vs. southpaws.