Ceddanne Rafaela, Red Sox bats erupt as benches clear in 10-3 rout of Framber Valdez, Tigers

Are the Red Sox bats finally starting to wake up?

After erupting for five runs in the seventh inning of Monday night’s 5-4 comeback win, Boston’s offense stayed hot Tuesday, hammering Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez for 10 runs, seven earned, on nine hits over just three innings in a commanding 10-3 victory over Detroit.

Ceddanne Rafaela got the Red Sox on the board in the first inning, belting a three-run homer with two outs to give Boston an early 3-0 lead over Tigers left-hander Valdez. It marked the Red Sox’ second three-run homer in as many games.

Boston broke the game open in the third.

After a leadoff walk to Willson Contreras and a strikeout by Wilyer Abreu, the Red Sox rattled off five straight hits against Valdez. Rafaela, Andruw Monasterio, Caleb Durbin, and Connor Wong all drove in runs during the surge as Boston continued to pile on.

Leading off the fourth, Contreras crushed a no-doubt homer, then admired it with a demonstrative bat flip and stare back toward the mound. Moments later, Abreu followed with a left-on-left blast of his own, pushing the Red Sox lead to 10-2 with back-to-back homers.

After Abreu’s shot, tensions boiled over for Valdez, who drilled Trevor Story in the upper back with a 94 mph first-pitch fastball, prompting immediate reactions from both dugouts. Story appeared to believe the pitch was intentional, and crew chief Dan Iassogna agreed, ejecting Valdez after the benches cleared.

“I was in there ready to hit and it showed up way behind me, off the numbers,” Story said. “I think we all know what’s what.

“It’s pretty indisputable,” the veteran shortstop added.

The Red Sox dugout emptied quickly, with Contreras charging out and needing to be restrained by teammates and coaches. 

“They didn’t hesitate,” Tracy said. “They were out there. Nothing escalated. They weren’t happy about it, obviously, but they were there, which was important.”

Detroit’s bench and both bullpens also emptied, though the confrontation never escalated beyond shouting and pushing.

“Yes, I do think (it was intentional),” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters of Valdez plunking Story. “I thought it was weak, and I thought everybody saw it. Their side, our side, I think everybody saw it. And yeah, it was weak.”

“Those are my guys," Story said. "It means a lot to me. Those guys, we’re in this fight every day. We’re like brothers and we spend a lot of time together. It’s always good to see them have your back like that.”

Valdez allowed a career-worst 10 runs, seven earned, on nine hits over three innings, while walking one and striking out three.

“I would have been upset (if Valdez wasn’t ejected),” Tracy said. “I think with the situation, it was fairly obvious, so they did the right thing there. Once he was gone and eliminated from the game, it was like, ‘Let’s just get back to playing baseball.’”

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch on the Valdez, "We play a really good brand of baseball here. That didn't feel like it. I'm not judging intent, but I know when you go out on the field in those confrontations, you usually feel like you're in your right. It didn't feel good being out there."

The pitch that hit Story in the back was the first four-seam fastball that Valdez threw this season. 

"I was trying to use the fastball as a backup plan because I got to do something different against them. Again, it might look like it was on purpose, but it wasn’t,” Valdez said postgame. 

Overall, the Red Sox pounded out 12 hits, drew two walks, and struck out 11 times. Boston also went 5-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.

“It’s been moving, I think pretty good,” Rafaela told reporters of the offense explosion on Tuesday night. “Everybody’s putting together better ABs.”

Offensively, the Red Sox were led by