Rafaela’s Go-Ahead Bomb, Devers Held Hitless in 7‑5 Sox Win/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Ceddanne Rafaela had a stellar night with three hits — including a tiebreaking sixth-inning homer — as the Red Sox edged the Giants 7–5. Boston’s bullpen threw five scoreless innings, extending their scoreless streak to 17⅔ innings and marking their eighth win in nine games. Meanwhile, traded star Rafael Devers returned to Oracle Park but was held hitless in his debut vs. his former team.
Ceddanne Rafaela delivered a standout performance to lift the Boston Red Sox past the San Francisco Giants, 7–5, at Oracle Park. Rafaela’s offensive explosion featured a tiebreaking solo home run in the sixth inning and key RBI hits earlier in the game. His homer off Sean Hjelle broke a 5–5 deadlock and proved to be the difference-maker.
Rafaela doubled and scored in the third inning and added an RBI single in the fourth, pacing a Boston offense that has now won eight of its last nine games. The bottom of the order came up huge for the Sox, with David Hamilton contributing a two-run homer and multiple defensive highlights.
The spotlight also fell on Rafael Devers, who faced his former team for the first time since being traded to the Giants five days ago. Devers was greeted warmly with a standing ovation but failed to register a hit in five at-bats, including a near-home run caught dramatically at the wall by none other than Rafaela.
Boston’s bullpen was lights out once again. Relievers Brennan Bernardino, Zack Kelly, Justin Wilson, Greg Weissert, and Garrett Whitlock combined for five scoreless innings. Aroldis Chapman closed the game with a clean ninth, earning his 14th save in 15 chances.
San Francisco started strong, capitalizing on Red Sox miscues and timely hits to build an early 4–2 lead. Christian Koss hit into two run-scoring double plays, and Mike Yastrzemski chipped in with an RBI single. The Red Sox responded with five unanswered runs, highlighted by the Rafaela homer and an insurance run from Wilyer Abreu in the seventh.
The turning point came in the eighth inning when the Giants loaded the bases with two outs. Garrett Whitlock, facing Mike Yastrzemski, came up big with a strikeout to end the threat and preserve the Red Sox lead.
The victory not only highlighted Boston’s offensive depth and defensive grit but also emphasized the emerging dominance of their bullpen. With another strong outing, the relievers extended their shutout streak to an impressive 17⅔ innings, giving the team a critical edge in close games.
Looking ahead, Brayan Bello (3–1, 3.49 ERA) will take the mound for Boston in Saturday’s matchup against Landon Roupp (4–5, 3.99 ERA) for San Francisco.
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