BOSTON (AP) Ceddanne Rafaela homered twice for his first multi-homer game and drove in five runs, Tanner Houck had a solid start and the Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 7-3 on Friday night.
Houck (5-5) went seven innings, giving up one run on three hits and two walks with six strikeouts. The right-hander was hit in his pitching arm by Zach McKinstryās comebacker with one out in the fifth inning. Houck stayed with the play and threw out McKinstry at first base.
āHeās one of the best pitchers in the big leagues,ā Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. āEvery outing heās giving us a chance to win. I hope people start paying attention to whatās going on. Itās been fun to watch from our end and it feels like every outing itās like letās see whatās going to happen tonight in a good way.ā
Rafaela fell two shy of his career high in RBIs set April 27 against the Chicago Cubs.
āThis is a hard game and itās even harder at a young age,ā Houck said about Rafaela, who leads his team and all major league rookies with 33 RBIs. āHeās 23 years old in the big leagues. You see the talent and you know itās there and all you can do is keep pushing him in the right direction and just trust that the talentās going to pay off. For him to have a game like tonightās, itās great. Iām sure itās a huge confidence boost for him. Heās a good player and Iām excited to see where he can be one day.ā
Right-hander Kenta Maeda (2-2) went 4 2/3 innings for Detroit, giving up five runs on a season-high eight hits with two walks and a season-high six strikeouts.
āGetting out of it early was encouraging, but you give them too many shots at a big hit, itās bound to bite you,ā Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. āFor him, it was rough because of the damage that was done with the home runs and the extra base hits.ā
Boston scored four runs in the fourth inning. Rafael Devers led off with a double and scored on Dominic Smithās one-out double. After Vaughn Grissom singled, No. 9 hitter Rafaela hit a two-out homer over the Green Monster in left field, scoring Smith and Grissom.
āItās definitely frustrating to give up so many runs, especially in that inning,ā Maeda said through a team interpreter. āThe first run, that one was tough, but for the runs to keep scoring after, thatās less than ideal.ā
The Red Sox added a run in the next inning on doubles by Connor Wong and Rob Refsnyder, ending Maedaās outing with left-hander Joey Wentz entering.
After David Hamilton singled with one out in the sixth, Rafaela hit his seventh homer of the season, giving Boston a 7-1 lead.
Detroit opened the scoring when Riley Greene singled with one out in the first inning, stole second base and scored on Gio Urshelaās two-out single.
Detroitās Colt Keith hit a two-out homer in the eighth off Greg Weissert.
TRAINERāS ROOM
Tigers: The injury to OF Kerry Carpenter, who was placed on the injured list Wednesday, was reclassified from lumbar spine inflammation to a lumbar spine stress fracture.
Red Sox: OF Tyler OāNeill, on the injured list since May 26 with right knee inflammation, received a cortisone shot Thursday and could return to the lineup Wednesday, his first day of eligibility. ā¦ LF/DH Masataka Yoshida, on the IL since April 29 with a left thumb strain, began hitting off a tee on Thursday and could being taking live batting practice on Saturday. ā¦ RHP Isaiah Campbell, on the IL since April 12 with right shoulder impingement, was expected to pitch two innings in a rehab assignment Saturday.
UP NEXT:
Tigers RHP Reese Olson (1-5, 1.92 ERA) was set to start Saturday against RHP Cooper Criswell (2-2, 3.96).
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