Ceddanne Rafaela curled a walk-off home run around the Pesky Pole in right field in the ninth inning, capping a dramatic 11-9 win for the Boston Red Sox over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night.
The Red Sox overcame deficits of 4-0, 7-5, 8-7, and 9-8 in a wild back-and-forth contest. In the bottom of the eighth, Rafael Devers tied the game at 9-9 with a chopper that skipped between Angels infielders Chris Taylor and Zach Neto.
Though the Angels responded after each of Boston’s first three scoring rallies, they couldn’t deliver a final answer. After Mike Trout walked to lead off the ninth, Boston reliever Cooper Criswell (1-0) retired the next three hitters to keep the game tied.
Abraham Toro followed with a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth, setting the stage for Rafaela’s 308-foot line drive just inside the right-field foul pole to complete the comeback and avoid a series sweep.
Taylor Ward drove in four runs for Los Angeles, which was seeking its first three-game sweep at Fenway Park since 2012.
Key Moment
Both starters struggled out of the gate. Before recording an out, Boston’s Lucas Giolito gave up four runs on two doubles, two singles, and a home run. In the bottom half, José Soriano responded by allowing four singles and two walks, and the Red Sox made it 4-3 before Soriano struck out Rafaela to escape further damage. David Hamilton’s two-run double later gave Boston its first lead at 5-4.
Key Stat
The starting pitchers combined to allow 14 runs in just 5 1/3 innings of work.
Up Next
The Angels have Thursday off before opening a three-game home series against the Seattle Mariners on Friday. Kyle Hendricks (2-6, 5.34 ERA) is set to start. The Red Sox are off Thursday before heading to New York for a weekend series against the Yankees.
